The Baby
by Prongslette
Summary: [ON PAUSE] A woman shows up at Harry and Hermione's doorstep asking them to protect her child. There's only one discreet way to do this: Tell the public the baby's theirs... (HHr)
1. Meeting Angelica

Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter nor its characters.

Brief Summary:

Harry and Hermione are friends and live in the same house while Ron is married to Luna. Both of them are famous in both the wizarding and muggle world. A woman suddenly turns up in their doorstep with a baby telling them that the baby is not safe with her and if the people who are after her find out that the baby was hers, they would kill it. Hermione offers to look after the baby and take care of her child until her name was cleared. In this time, Harry and Hermione get closer ... Will they remain friends posing as a family..or something more? (H/Hr)

  
  


~ * ~ * ~ *The Baby* ~ * ~ * ~

Chapter 1: Meeting Angelica

Twenty-four year old Harry Potter and his friend, Hermione Granger were running down one of the streets in Diagon Alley, laughing madly. They were being chased by a mob of reporters trying to get pictures and interviews of them. To some people, this would be really unusual, but for Harry and Hermione, it was perfectly normal. 

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were well-known in both the magical and non-magical community. They were both famous Aurors in the wizarding community and were actors in the muggle world. As a result of this, they were recognized everywhere they went.

Lord Voldemort was killed by Harry a year after their education at Hogwarts finished. Most of his followers were caught and thrown into Azkaban, while others were lucky enough to escape. This wouldn't have happened though if Draco Malfoy wasn't informing the Order of Voldemort's every move. 

After Draco had proven that he was on the Light Side by spying for the Order of the Phoenix, Arthur and Molly Weasley had given their consent on allowing him date their youngest and only daughter, Ginny Weasley. Two years after that they were married and had their first daughter, Amanda Rose Malfoy. All of the Weasleys had accepted Draco with open arms, despite the way he treated them at school, but the longest to give in was their youngest son, Ronald Weasley. 

Ron Weasley was now the Keeper of the Chudley Canons and was happily married to Luna Lovegood, now Luna Weasley. They had two children, Elizabeth Weasley, who was four years old and liked to be called Eliza, and Christina Weasley or Christi, who was three. Luna was currently pregnant at 8 months with their first son.

"Harry Potter!"

"Hermione Granger!"

"Are you two going out?!"

"Where are you going?"

"Mr. Potter, which do you prefer. Blondes or Brunettes?"

"No comment!" Hermione yelled. She looked at Harry, who was doing the same.

These types of questions were fired at them when they were cornered at an alley. Harry and Hermione always tried to avoid the paparazzi, but it seemed impossible. Where ever they went, there was always a reporter or two that would disturb them. 

"Miss Granger, there are rumors going around saying that you and Mr. Potter are having a child? Is it true?" a blonde witch asked. The reporter looked oddly familiar to them. 

"Rita Skeeter?" Harry asked her.

"The one and only," Rita replied. "Now, are the rumors true or false?" she added impatiently. 

Harry opened and closed his mouth several times. He was at a loss of words. Though he had heard a lot of rumors about him and his childhood friend, he really didn't think they'd go as far as suspecting they were having a child. He hadn't heard this rumor before and it shocked him a lot. There was a pregnant pause, it seemed that all the reporters held their breathes to hear his answer. Only the clicks and flashes of cameras were heard. 

The people always thought that they were dating since they lived in the same house. Harry somehow managed to persuade Hermione that they were very close friends and that he would be incredibly lonely without her. He said that what happened in their fourth year would not happen again. Obviously, he was wrong. This had been going on for about two years already and the media would not get tired of hearing that they were just platonic friends. One time, they even won Best Couple of the Year.

Harry and Hermione were relieved when they heard the familiar voice of Ron Weasley boom, "Leave them alone, ladies and gentlemen!"

Harry and Hermione looked where the voice came from and, sure enough, they saw the trademark red Weasley hair. Ron was there standing with a very pregnant Luna, who was holding Eliza and Christi's hands. Even though the Weasleys could afford a nanny for their children, they refused to hire one. Ron and Luna spent as much time with their children as possible, telling everybody that they would not know when their last chance would be. 

There were at least seven bodyguards around them, protecting them from people who tried to get too near and harm the family. Ron motioned for the men to help Harry and Hermione, who smiled thankfully. There were a series of groans from the reporters surrounding them as they walked pass them.

About ten minutes later, they found themselves seated inside Ron's limousine with his guards following them in two cars, one in front of them and one behind. 

"So tell me," Ron started, "Why did you run away from your body guards again?"

Hermione looked at him as if saying 'Duh!', but said, "Don't you get tired of people following you around where you go? We disapparated to The Leaky Cauldron, we thought there wouldn't be too many people seeing that it's Saturday morning,"

"Wouldn't they get suspicios? I mean they were muggles afetr all," Ron looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, it gets annoying having some people followong you around, I have to agree. But I would keep them with me if they kept me and my family safe," he finished. 

He was sitting across from her and Harry, Luna and Eliza beside him. Christi was playing with Harry. Harry always liked kids and was seen most of the time in public with Christi and Eliza. He usually brought them to malls with Hermione, shopping for toys

"What's this I hear about you having a baby, Herm?" Luna asked, playing with Eliza's hair. "I was watching t.v. and they showed you looking at baby clothes with Harry last week."

"Oh! That?! I'm not having a baby! I was just looking for clothes for my nephew. Remember Andrew? It was his birthday last week. I didn't even know about that rumor until now," Hermione explained. She ran her hand through her once bushy, now sleek hair.

Hermione had changed a lot since her days at Hogwarts. Her hair was now hanging in soft ringlets down her back. Her pale skin brought out her eyes. She had a figure that many women would die for.

"Yeah, why wouldn't you believe us when we say were just friends?" Harry demanded. He couldn't believe that even his best friend and his wife wouldn't believe them. Christi was now braiding his hair. Luna looked at him and just smiled the mysterious smile she always did when she knew something the other didn't, not even Hermione.

"Do you want to come over to our place for a few hours?" Ron asked. "We could play Quidditch! Or we could teach Eliza how to fly! I mean she's old enough." 

Hermione suddenly spoke at the sound of Quidditch. She rather disliked Quidditch as it was likely to cause injury. She couldn't believe how thick Harry and Ron could be.

"Ron, how could you stand Quidditch?!" When Ron looked at her confusedly, she continued, "I mean you could get killed! According to this book I read, it's a very dangerous sport! And children under 9 years old shouldn't be on a broom beca—" Hermione lectured him. After about five minutes, she finished her lecture. "Now do you understand?" Hermione asked him. 

When no one answered, she looked over at Ron, who was now talking animatedly with Harry about what move they would teach Eliza first.

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY!! HARRY JAMES POTTER!!"

Harry and Ron looked at each other and muttered, "Uh oh! Full names!" They looked at Hermione who had steam practically going out of her ears. They looked at each other again and tried to change the subject.

"Hermione, did you take the role they offered you in '12 Turning on 25'?," Ron hastily asked, hoping the question would make her forget about what he and Harry did.

"Oh, no, I said I couldn't. I've been too busy!" Hermione, apparently, forgot about her lecture. She turned and talked to Luna, who was watching them with amusement.

"We better go straight home. I don't want her exploding again," Harry whispered to Ron, making sure Hermione couldn't hear. "You should have seen her when I left my sock on the floor on Christmas! She turned all red and barged into my room when I was changing! She levitated me out of the house and locked me out. I left my wand on my bedside table. I was out there for about 5 hours before she let me back in and let me tell you it was freezing! "

"You should get a house-elf to pick up after you, mate!" Ron laughed.

After about another 20 minutes, Ron dropped them off at Godric's Hollow and left. Godric's Hollow was what Harry and Hermione called their house. It was very big since they were being paid a lot in their work. There were two fountains in the garden, which were full of different colored flowers. The house itself was two floors and a third that was open for star gazing. It had creamy white walls and its roof was painted a pale red. There were black gates surrounding the lot. However, there were no house-elves since Hermione still believed in S.P.E.W. Instead, they would hire five or six people to clean the house once a week.

The inside of the house was made of oak and was filled with expensive looking furniture. The house had 13 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a library, a living room, a kitchen, a play room for Ron's children when they were over, an indoor pool, a study room etc. The garage was filled with five of the latest car models and had 2 limousines. The drivers were only called by when they were needed since Harry and Hermione tried to live as normal a life as possible with their current status. The back yard had a pool and had a pond with fish in it. There was a bridge above the water. Behind that, there were trees and, if you walk far enough, you would see a waterfall.

When they got inside, Hermione told Harry that she'd be in the library reading. She was seated comfortably in one of the library chairs when, about thirty minutes later, she was called down by Harry.

"Hermione!! Get in here! Fast!" his voice was full of panic.

The tone of his voice made Hermione worry. She dashed down the spiral staircase and into the living room, where his voice came from. When she got in, she saw a woman holding a baby to her chest, sitting down on the couch. Harry was kneeling in front of her, trying to comfort the woman. She looked very familiar to Hermione. 

"Parvati?" she asked.

The woman looked up and nodded. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were tear stained.

She and Parvati were once very close friends, they were inseparable. However, she and Hermione lost contact because of their schedules.

Hermione walked briskly to Parvati and gave her a reassuring hug without crushing the baby between them. Parvati started sobbing on her shoulder.

"Parvati, tell me. What happened? I'll try to do anything to help you," Hermione said softly after Parvati calmed down to talk.

"Herm, I need you to take care of Angelica," she wheezed, motioning to the baby in her arms. The baby was sleeping and her clothes were filthy. Hermione looked down at the baby. There was clothe covering her but she could make out the black hair that reached her shoulders.

"Parvati, why?" Hermione asked. Harry stood up to get a glass of water for Parvati in the kitchen, leaving the two women to talk.

"Someone's trying to kill us! They already killed John! Angelica isn't safe with me," Parvati started crying again. "I need you to take care of her, Hermione! If I take her, she'll die!"

"Okay, Parvati," Hermione soothed, stroking her friend's hair. "We'll take care of her."

"Herm, you can't let anyone know about this, not even Ron," Parvati sobbed.

"But what will we tell the public?" Hermione asked confused.

"Tell them she's yours, tell them anything!"

Harry finally returned and handed the glass of water to Parvati. He sat down next to her and tried to calm her down. 

"Hermione, tell the public and the media that she's yours and Harry's," Parvati whispered, gazing at Angelica.

"What?" Harry asked confused. He didn't know what was going on. "Mine and Hermione's?"

"Harry, I'll explain it to you later," Hermione told him. She turned to Parvati, "How will that help?"

"You're one of the most recognized and protected people in the world, Herm, you're an Auror, too. They'll believe anything you tell them," Parvati answered.

"Okay, I'll do it," Hermione informed her, "You're my best friend, I'll do anything to keep you safe. But will you at least tell me what you did to get in this mess?"

Parvati looked at her straight in the eye before answering, "I used to be a Death-Eater. Then, when I realized what I was doing was so horrible, I spied for the Order. The other Death-Eaters almost killed Draco then, but I helped him escape. Now they're blaming me that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone for good." Hermione gasped and Harry stared at her incredibly.

"The Death-Eaters that escaped are after me, Herm," she continued. "They already killed my husband, I just got out of the house in time. If they find out Angelica's mine, they'll kill her too."

Hermione now had tears in her eyes. She nodded and took the baby from her mother's grasp and said, "Parvati, stay with us. Stay were it's safe."

"Herms, I can't people will find out."

"Parvati, I'm going to protect her no matter what," Hermione vowed, her voice cracking.

Parvati smiled at her gratefully and stood up and gave her friend a hug, both of the women were now sobbing hysterically. She took her Angelica from Hermione and whispered, "I'll try to come back for you, sweetheart." She took out a gold locket and a letter from her pocket and handed it to Hermione. 

"If I don't come back, please take care of my little angel," she croaked. "I'll come back if I get my name cleared and if I'm not dead by then."

"Parvati, don't say that," Hermione said with the same tone Parvati used.

"Herm, if I don't come back, give it to her when she's old enough and tell her mommy loves her. Tell her I did this to protect her," Parvati repeated, more determined this time.

Seeing Hermione's nod, she handed Angelica back to her. She looked at her daughter one last time and walked out the door, leaving a crying Hermione and a confused Harry to comfort her.

Author's Note: Please tell me if I should continue this story. And if you have any suggestions, please add them to your review!! ; ) If you guys like the D/G ship, I have another story of that, too. Please read it! 

-Ria

  
  
  
  
  



	2. The Trouble of Going Shopping

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters. However, I do own the plot and possible characters you might not recognize on the next few chapters.

PLEASE REVIEW MY STORY. 

The Baby

Chapter Two: Going Shopping For Angelica

"Hermione?" Harry asked a little hesitantly. He put his arms around her as an attempt to comfort her. He didn't know what was going on and was not sure if he wanted to. 

Hermione was a very collected person and if something had made her cry as hard as she was crying then, it had to be pretty bad. He was a little shaken up by the encounter. He would have never guessed that Parvati would work for the Dark Lord.

"Herm, tell me, what's going on?" Harry asked quietly.

"Harry! She thinks she's going to die!" Hermione cried. She told Harry what Parvati was asking them to do. After she was finished, she held Angelica very tightly to her chest as though her life depended on it. 

"Harry? You will help .... will you?" Hermione asked him quietly after her sobs subsided.

Harry smiled at her in a comforting way and answered her softly, "You didn't need to ask, 'Mione."

Despite of the situation, this brought a small smile to Hermione's tear streaked face. Harry always called her 'Mione when she was depressed or if he wanted to cheer her up. He was the only one allowed to call her that and he knew it. Not even Ron was allowed to.

Angelica finally woke up, having slept through the whole time. She opened her eyes to reveal brown eyes, a shade lighter than Hermione's. Harry smiled and pointed it out.

"This will make it more believable," Harry told her, "She has brown eyes and black hair."

"I guess," Hermione laughed, "Harry? Get the baby stuff in the attic, would you?"

There were bottles in the attic ever since Elizabeth was born. Harry would always bring her over and sometimes let her sleep at their house. When Christi was born, he did the same. There were also a few clothes that were kept, however, Hermione was sure that only one or two pairs would fit Angelica as she was still too small. 

While Harry was upstairs, Hermione took her time to look at the baby in her arms. Looking at her, Hermione guessed that she was only about five or four months old. She had black hair that fell to the small of her back. She had pale skin, but had rosy cheeks. Her eyes were brown, just like hers. Hermione wondered how lucky Parvati was that her child's features were like her's and Harry's.

Harry finally came back. Hermione watched as he walked towards her carrying a small bag and a car seat. 

"These are the only things that she can use, 'Mione," he announced as he sat down across of her. He held up small off-shoulder shirt and a jean skirt. Along a pair of shoes, a bag of diapers, a pacifier, baby wipes ("You'll do the cleaning, Herm!"), two bottles, a can of formula, a bib, and a baby bag. Seeing this, Hermione's face fell.

"Harry, there is no way we can put off shopping today! She doesn't even have enough milk and we don't have baby food!" Hermione shrieked.

"Okay, okay!" Harry said holding up his hands. He had no desire to go shopping, but seeing how this affected Hermione's mood, he agreed.

"I'll just get us cleaned up a bit and you can pack the bottles and such. We're going to a muggle shop then we'll go to Diagon Alley, so you better change," Hermione said motioning to the green, handsome robes he was wearing, "Just bring robes with you." She walked up the stairs with Angelica's clothes and shut the door of her room. All the way downstairs, Harry could hear Angelica's giggles. He sighed and did as Hermione told him to. He could just picture Ron saying _'She got you wrapped around her little finger, mate!'_

About fifteen minutes later, Hermione came back with Angelica. She was wearing a pale blue tank top and blue jeans. She had an extra robe slung over her shoulder. Angelica was wearing the outfit Harry had taken from the attic earlier, white shoes and her hair was combed neatly. 

Hermione smiled at him as he laughed when Angelica pulled her hair, causing some to escape from the ponytail it was in. Harry carried the car seat and played with Angelica, who was peering at him over Hermione's shoulder.

"Harry, you'll probably enjoy having Angelica around!" Hermione laughed as Harry tickled Angelica's sides. Harry just laughed and put the car seat at the back seats of one of their cars, a silver convertible. 

They drove to a mall called 'Square One'. The whole ride was spent in silence, both Harry and Hermione lost in their thoughts. About ten minutes later, Hermione decided to break the silence.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"If people recognize us, what do you think we should say? No one even knows about Angelica," Hermione asked Harry.

Harry was silent for a minute, his eyes fixed on the road. 

"Well, I suppose we should tell them that Angelica is ours, since that's what you want isn't it?" he replied.

"Well yes, but----"

"Then that's what we'll say. No buts" Harry told her.

Hermione looked at the back seat and found Angelica sleeping. She looked at Harry again and sighed.

Harry noticed this and asked teasingly, "What's wrong, _Honey_?"

Hermione hit him playfully in the arm. "Hey!" Harry protested, "If we're going to act like Angelica's ours, don't you think we should pretend to at least be going out?"

"I suppose," Hermione sighed, "I'm just worried about Parvati."

Harry put his free hand above hers comfortingly. "I am, too, Herm. I am too."

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. In about twenty-five minutes, Harry and Hermione were facing the entrance of the shopping center. Harry was bringing the car seat and Hermione was carrying Angelica.

"'Mione? If a someone notices us, don't you think we should at least answer a few of their questions? I'm pretty sure most of them will be about Angelica."

"Sure, I guess," Hermione agreed.

They went inside the door and a blast of cold air hit their face. When they were on the fifth floor about an hour later, Hermione and Harry had yet to reach the baby store.

"Just ask somebody where the bloody store is!" she said waving the baby bag around wildly.

Harry looked at her as if she had gone mental. " 'Mione," he started slowly, afraid that she might explode, "We might get recognized by some people."

"I don't care! Just ask someone! I need to go to the washroom," she announced, "You can go to that store," she continued pointing to a shop filled with furniture. "Try to find a play pen, a rocking chair ... well you get the idea!" 

She turned around and went inside the washroom. To her great surprise, she found Rita Skeeter fixing her hair in front of the mirror. She was wearing muggle clothes. She backed up against the wall, listening to the conversation Rita was having with another reporter Hermione recognized as Anna Bernard. 

"Anna, where do you think those little brats are? We just saw them going in!" Rita said furiously.

"I don't know, Rita. And if we do find them, how sure are you that they'll give us an interview? They're trying to avoid the media!"

Rita didn't answer. It seemed like she was at a loss for words. Hermione went out as fast as she can, hoping Rita hadn't seen her. She, however, didn't notice a girl follow her.

"Ms. Granger!" the girl shrieked. She looked like she was eleven or twelve.

Hermione turned around and smiled at the girl in front of her. 

"My name is Cathy Caraway," the girl announced loudly. "I'm a really big fan of yours!"

"Oh, thank you!" Hermione said. By now, a lot of people had formed around her, trying to get her autograph. She craned her neck, trying to look for Harry and Angelica. She looked at the washroom entrance and, to her horror, saw Rita, Anna and a man holding a camera running briskly towards her.

"Ms. Granger!" Anna yelled over the crowd, "Where's Mr. Potter and the girl?"

Hermione pretended that she didn't hear her and continued her search of Harry and her 'daughter'. To her immense relief, she spotted them walking towards her. Seeing Harry, the people made way for him to pass through. He smiled at them gratefully.

Harry gave Hermione a questioning stare which she nodded to. He turned to Rita and her little crew.

"I'll give you two answers, so you better think about your questions properly," he informed her. There were people shoving paper in his face.

Rita's face lit up as though she had just been told that she was the new owner if the Daily Prophet. She motioned for Ana and the camera man to form a little circle. After a few minutes, she turned to Harry, who was still busy signing. When he saw this, he motioned for Hermione to join him.

"What is the name of this child?" Rita asked them. Harry was about to answer when Hermione beat him to it.

"Her name is Angel," Hermione told her, she gazed at Angelica and continued softly, "Angelica Lily Potter."

"Mr. Potter, who are the parents of this child," she asked curiously. The camera man was taking pictures of them madly. 

"Well, isn't that a bit obvious?" Harry replied, "Her parents are me and Hermione. Now excuse us, we need to continue our shopping." He turned and took Hermione's hand. Surprisingly, no one followed them.

"Where is the sodding store?!" Hermione yelled.

Harry looked behind her and pointed. "Its right there, Herm."

Hermione looked where he was pointing at and turned to him sheepishly.

"Come on!"

They entered the store and bought Angelica toys, clothes, and other things needed to raise a child. No one really recognized Harry until he and Hermione reached the counter. Hermione walked over to a nearby shelf to look at a baby book, leaving Harry alone to pay for their things.

"Hey, I'm Lovely," the sales lady said seductively. 

_' Your name is Lovely? Well, it doesn't suite you.'_ Harry thought, rolling his eyes inwardly.

Harry squirmed from where he stood. "Who's are these for? Not your's I hope. From what I know, you don't have a kid, and I know a lot." She now had her hand on his arm. Harry tried to pry it off put she wouldn't let go. He looked at Hermione for help, who was watching the exchange with amusement. 

Seeing him so uncomfortable, she decided to help him.

"Hey!!" the people in line protested. Since there was only one counter, they were pretty annoyed by the amount of things they bought. Hermione looked at them and continued her task to help Harry.

"I'm sorry, Miss," the clerk said. "You'll have to go to the back of the line," her voice was menacing.

Hermione looked at her, not even affected in the least. Harry, seeing Hermione, put his arm protectively around her shoulder. He gave her a kiss on her forehead. Witnessing this, the sales lady's eyes bulged out.

"Y-y-you!" she screeched pointing at Harry and Hermione. "You're Harry Potter and Hermione Granger!" The people who were complaining in the line were suddenly silent.

Throughout the exchange, Harry had thought that she knew who he was. It was a pretty funny sight. The whole store was deadly quiet, there was a lady by the cashier pointing a shaking finger at two very famous actors. Then, as though they were one, the people started muttering and started exciting conversations with each other.

Seeing the commotion, the manager came out of the storage room, his face red.

"Lea! What the bloody hell are you doing?! There are a thousand people out here and you're there pointing at a lovely couple!!" He stopped to take a breath and turned to Harry and Hermione. "I'm sorry, Mr. and Mrs. ?"

"Potter, Harry Potter," Harry answered. He looked expectantly at Hermione to add something, when he noticed that she was looking at the manager, who had now calmed down, as though that was all that was needed to be said.

_'Of course! She wants the sodding guy to think that you two are a bloody couple!' _Harry thought sarcastically to himself.

"I' am sorry, Mr. Pot--" he suddenly stopped as though he had just realized something rather obvious. "Mr. Potter!! Is there anything we could do?" he exclaimed.

"Well will you total up our things?" Hermione spoke up. "Harry and I are terribly sorry to say that we still have a lot of things to do and we need to get going." Hermione laughed calmly.

_'She's a bloody good actress,' _Harry thought admirably, _'She acts as though we aren't even doing anything wrong! Well, we aren't, but that's not the point!'_

"Of course!" the manager replied eagerly. He pushed Lovely, who protested, out of the way and totaled up their things himself. After a rather amusing fifteen minutes, Harry's hands were full of plastic bags while Hermione was bringing one or two along with Angelica.

"Harry? Do you think we should schedule an interview in a muggle t.v. show. After that I reckon we should set up one on the Daily Prophet as well?" Hermione asked as they drove out of the parking lot.

"I guess we should," Harry replied, "When do you want it? I wanted it next week, but seeing what happened, I guess it could be sooner."

"Well, I guess tomorrow would be fine," Hermione answered after thinking about his question. "Yeah, tomorrow would be fine. We should schedule a show with 'Mark and Sylvia' in the morning and we can have the other one the next day."

"Whatever you say, _Darling_."

"Harry!"

~*~*~ The Next Day in the Studio ~*~*~

"Welcome! Harry! Hermione!" Mark said enthusiastically.

Harry and Hermione sat down on one of the comfy stairs on the stage. They left Angelica with a nanny they hired for a day, who was in the backstage, waiting to be called.

"Hey Mark!" Harry replied. He was wearing a tight black turtle neck that showed of his muscular chest, which he gained from years of Quidditch.

"So, how are you?" Sylvia asked. After the introductions were made, they got on Angelica.

"What's this I hear about you two? Some people are saying they saw you two by the mall shopping for baby clothes _and_ a baby?" Sylivia asked curiously.

"Well, I will make no attempt to hide it anymore. Our secret is out in the open," Hermione answered. She took hold of holding Harry's hand, caressing it lovingly to make it more believable. However, it was only Harry who noticed that she was grasping it rather hard and her hands were sweating.

"We thought those were just rumors," Sylvia gasped.

Hermione smiled and said, "That's what we were trying to do. And from what you just said, I think it worked pretty good."

"We have not seen any pictures of her," Mark told her. "Tell us, what does she look like?"

Hermione grinned and Harry, not wanting to be left out, answered before she could even open her mouth.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Harry smirked.

Someone had sent the nanny, Mary Anne inside the stage, who was now walking towards Harry and Hermione, holding Angelica. Angelica was playing with her new toys, and seemed rather entertained with it. The toy Harry bought for her was the most expensive toy present today. He bought it when he went out last night to buy milk at a pharmacy nearby. It was a teddy bear that was made to play, sing and dance.

Sylvia gasped as Marry Anne handed Angelica to Harry. Angelica was clad in one of the many clothes Hermione had bought. 

"What's her name?" Sylvia asked as Hermione let her hold Angelica.

"Angel," Harry told her. "Angelica Lily Potter."

"She looks just like you!" Mark commented. The audience nodded and shouted their approval.

"Thanks, I guess."

"How old is she?" Sylvia questioned. She turned to Harry.

"She's... er ... four months old." Harry looked at Hermione. She looked at him nodding slightly.

After a few more minutes, the show was over and they were on the backstage, signing autographs and thanking people who congratulated them. They went home after about two hours.

"That went pretty good," Harry commented. Hermione nodded, looking up at him after she finished changing Angelica's diaper.

"Just one more trip to the Daily Prophet to schedule an interview and were going home. I wonder how Parvati is?" Hermione wondered sadly. 

"Herm, she's just fine," Harry told her, "you need to have trust in her."

"You're right."

Harry woke up the next morning with Hermione jumping on his bed. He opened his eyes groggily, sat up and grabbed her ankles. Hermione fell down beside him and laughed. 

"You should see what's printed in _'Entertainment'."_

"Why, what's there?" Harry asked. He put his arm around her waist and she did the same to him. They did this every now and then. By now, they were comfortable with it and would even do this in public without thinking.

"See for yourself," Hermione answered. She reached out to the side of the bed and picked up a magazine called 'Entertainment'. 

Harry looked at her questioningly. She took 'Entertainment' out of his hand and flipped to page 23. There was a picture of Harry and Hermione holding hands and one was a picture of him, Hermione and Angelica.

It said:

_Harry Potter and Hermione Granger .... Parents?_

_ It was rumored the past week that these 'friends' were _

_ dating and have a child together. However, from what they said _

_ last night on 'Mark and Sylvia', theses weren't rumors. _

_ They do indeed, have a daughter. _

_ More on this on page 45._

"Herm?" Harry asked as he put the magazine down. He didn't need to turn to page 45 anymore, he knew what it would say.

"Yeah, Harry?" Hermione asked sleepily, burying her head on his pillow. She didn't get that much sleep last night since Angelica was awake most of the night and she didn't want to wake up Harry.

" I was just wondering what we should tell the Weasleys," Harry pondered. "What was that?" he added as he heard someone's footsteps going angrily up the stairs.

"I dunno," Hermione said, now fully awake.

The footsteps were growing louder and louder, indicating that someone was getting closer. The door suddenly banged open, as Harry was reaching out for his wand on his bedside table. 

"HARRY! HERMIONE!!"

Harry and Hermione saw red hair.

"Ron?" Hermione asked cautiously, bringing Harry's white blankets to her chin. Beside her, she could feel Harry stiffen. They both knew how worse Ron's temper could get.

  
  
  


Author's Note: I decided to leave a little cliffy! Please Review! Anyway, if you guys want to submit any questions to ask Harry and Hermione on their interview in the Daily Prophet, send them with your review along with some of your suggestions.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO REVIEW!!!!!!!

Next on The Baby

_"Ms. Granger," Rita said, her were eyes glinting. "How did you hide your pregnancy from everybody? Surely, someone must have noticed when you went to muggle premiers? I did some research on this matter and it stated very clearly that you cannot hide the baby with any spells once it begins to show."_

_ The people around them were muttering amongst themselves. How did she hide it?_

_Hermione looked around. She didn't know what to say ..._

Thanks a bunch to the following and to those who read my story:

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Please Continue Reviewing!!!!! I'll post as soon as I have time and if someone reviews. 

  
  
  
  
  



	3. The Announcement

Disclaimer: I do not own any familiar Harry Potter characters.

Brief Summary:

Harry and Hermione are friends and live in the same house while Ron is married to Luna. Both of them are famous in both the wizarding and muggle world. A woman suddenly turns up in their doorstep with a baby telling them that the baby is not safe with her and if the people who are after her find out that the baby was hers, they would kill it. Hermione offers to look after the baby and take care of her child until her name was cleared. In this time, Harry and Hermione get closer ... Will they remain friends posing as a family..or something more? (H/Hr)

Author's Note: I just want to give a big thank you to all those who had reviewed the earlier chapters. I just want to apologize for not posting this chapter sooner. I wasn't feeling the best. PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER.

**The Baby  
  
Chapter Three: The Announcement**

"Ron?" Hermione asked cautiously, bringing up Harry's white blankets to her chin. Beside her, she could feel Harry stiffen. They both knew how worse Ron's temper could get.  
  
Ron walked to Harry and Hermione, who still weren't moving on the bed, raging. He picked up the magazine Harry put down and held it up angrily, his hand shaking.  
  
"What's this suppose to mean?" he asked it a calm, strained voice. "What is this suppose to mean!"  
  
"Ron, please -" Harry started but was cut short by Ron.  
  
"I thought you trusted me!" Ron shouted, his ears turning redder that Harry had ever seen.  
  
"Ron, we do trust you," Hermione whispered, her eyes very watery. She made a move to stand up but when Ron turned to her, his eyes practically shooting daggers at them, she stayed put.  
  
"Then why didn't you tell me?!" he screamed. He now dropped the magazine and stuck his arms to the side as though to stop himself from hitting something.  
  
"Ron, we didn't tell anyone," Harry said as he stood up and faced his friend face to face. Ron paced the room to stop him from lunging at Harry. It was silent for a few moments except for Ron's ragged breathing.  
  
"I THOUGHT I WAS YOUR FRIEND!" Ron roared as he stopped in front of Harry. "YOU KNOW WHERE I HAD TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS?"  
  
"Ron -" Hermione sobbed, she now let her tears fall freely on her face.  
  
"I HAD TO FIND OUT FROM THE PITCH'S CARETAKER! I WAS PRACTICING QUIDDITCH OUTSIDE AND I OVERHEARD IT FROM THE PITCH'S CARETAKER!"

"Ron -" Hermione said tried to say.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO FEEL WHEN SOMEONE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO YOU KNOW SOMETHING THIS BIG BEFORE ME, YOUR BEST FRIEND?!"  
  
"Ron, listen to us!" Harry shouted. He grabbed Ron by the arms and forced him to look at him. "We've know each other for –what? fifteen years?- half our life! We would trust you with something like this but we reckoned that we just shouldn't tell anyone!" This was partly true.  
  
"Why not?!" Ron asked, trying to calm himself down but was failing.  
  
"Because if we told you, we had to tell everyone else because it just wouldn't be fair," Harry answered quietly.   
  
"You know what, Ron? You're right, I'd be mad too if I was the one kept from this by my best friends," Harry stated. He walked back to Ron. "Hit me," he suddenly said.

"What?!" Ron asked bewildered.

"I said hit me," Harry repeated. "I deserve it."

"No," Ron said despite how much he _wanted _to actually hit him. "No, Harry."

"Damn it, Ron!" Harry shouted, his patience wearing out. He knew that he shouldn't be acting this way, but he just couldn't control himself. "I deserve it!"

"Harry -"

Harry's anger got the better of him. He walked to the nearest wall and punched it with all his might. There was a sickening crack. Hermione screamed and ran to Harry.

"Harry!" she screamed. "Show it to me!" she said when he refused to let hr see his hand.

The pain was killing him, but he refused to show it in front of Ron. Ron, it seemed, had finally calmed down after that. He was staring at the oak wood floors.  
  
"Just give me sometime," Ron said shaking his head. "I'm just surprised. That's all. I'll -"

"But, Ron!" Harry protested.

"I'll come back in an hour. I should be feeling better by then," Ron continued as though he hadn't heard him.  
  
"Okay, mate," Harry said guiltily. He wanted to tell Ron so much that Angelica wasn't their child, much less, related to them. But he kept his mouth shut, knowing it was not his secret to tell. He knew that it was no one's secret to tell except for Parvati's.  
  
"Oh and by the way," Ron told them as he stopped by the doorframe, "The others are downstairs waiting for you. I asked them this morning if they new about this and they were just as shocked as I was." He suddenly grinned at them and Harry was relieved that the tension had decreased even though it was only the tiniest bit. "No one told Mum yet. We were too afraid she'll explode at us."  
  
"See you later!" he said giving the the smallest smile before he disappeared through doorway.  
  
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said as Ron left. "I just feel awful!"

Harry, too, felt bad. He wasn't use to lying to Ron. He never lied to Ron except at times when he needed to desperately. He knew that this was one of those times, but that didn't help in making him feel better that he was.  
  
"Me, too, Mione," Harry said hugging her. "Me, too."  
  
Hermione smiled at him gently. She could see in his eyes how much it pained him to have to lie to his friend.

"Harry, Ron will come around soon," she said trying to comfort him.  
  
Harry nodded. "Right." He should understand.

"Harry, show me your hand," when he didn't move, she added in more force that she intended, "now."

"No, I'm fine really!" Harry protested, though in truth, it was throbbing. He had forgotten about it, but now that Hermione had reminded him of it, he could feel it again. When he chanced to galnce at it, it was all bloody. The wall, too, had been damaged as well.

"Harry," Hermione said eying him dangerously.

"Okay, okay!"

After a few minutes, Harry's hand was back to normal. He inspected it, as though looking for flaws. He smiled gratefully at Hermione

"We better get down stairs," he said. "Ron said the Weasley's are waiting for us."

"Right. We better change," Hermione said as she indicated to her clothes, which consisted of short shorts and a shirt of Harry's. She had taken it about two days ago when she had ran out of laundry. She completely ignored Harry's suggestions of having a house-elf.

"You know," Harry started thoughtfully, "I've been looking for that shirt!"

Hermione giggled and said, "Well, I ran out of clothes so I took some of yours!"

"Right," he sighed. "We better start moving," he said as he walked over to his closet. He looked back and saw that Hermione did not move and inch. "What?" he asked. "Are you going to watch me change? Honestly, I don't mind."

"Oh ... umm ... right," Hermione said uncomfortably. Harry smiled inwardly at her in amusement. In truth, he _did_ mind. "I'll just go now!" she said as she practically ran out of the room.  
  
Harry watched as Hermione ran out the door. He stared at the spot where she had been for a few minutes and shook himself.

_'What was that?'_ he wondered.

_'Well,'_ said a little voice in his head, _'I'd call that flirting!'_

_ 'Me and Hermione?' _Harry laughed as he changed. _'Right.'_

_ 'I know, I'm always right!'_

_ 'Leave me alone!' _Harry answered it, in his mind, as he stopped what he was doing_._

_ 'How can I? I'm you and you're me.'_

_ "_Argh!" He said angrily. He tried to ignore the annoying voice in his head, but was failing.

_'You know I'm right!'_ it said.

He thought about the questions the Weasleys might ask him and, thankfully, it took his mind off what the voice had said.

_'Oh, no!'_ he thought panicking as he hurriedly pulled on his clothes. _'I must have been in here for fifteen minutes!'_

Once Harry opened his door, he found Hermione waiting for him, leaning on the wall and still in the clothes she had been in before. Her eyes were no longer puffy and her hair was tied back neatly.  
  
"You take longer in dressing up that me, Harry," she laughed.

"I was preoccupied," Harry defended. Hermione only laughed.

"Of course you were, Mr. Potter," Hermione said. "That'd what they all say."

The voice was back. _'She's flirting with you!'_

_ 'No, she's not! Harry said._

_ 'Yes, she is!'_

_ 'No!'_

_ 'Yes!'_

"Will you shut up!" Harry shouted, he did not know that he jad spoken out loud.

"Harry," Hermione said alarmed. "I didn't say anything!"

"Sorry," Harry muttered turning red. He did not want to tell her that he was in a battle with himself in his head. "Why aren't you changed yet?" he asked her trying to change teh subject.

"Oh, umm, you see, I ran out of clothes and since you didn't do the laundry yet, I don't have anymore clean clothes."

Harry sighed. They had jobs in the house. For three days, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Harry cooked dinner and the other remaining three, Hermione did. On Sundays, they ate at The Burrow. Hermione was no great cook, and she knew it, so they would mostly eat out. Whenever it got more complicated than macaroni and cheese, eggs, and hotdogs, they would most likely turn out burned or over cooked. The people they hired cleaned the house, except for the bedrooms being used, which was Hermione's job.

Harry motioned for her to continue.

"And since, I don't know any spell about that, I don't have anything to wear. So I was wondering if, eh ... er," she stopped and turned red.

"Go on," Harry pushed.

"I was wondering if I could borrow some of your clothes," Hermione finished quickly.

Harry laughed, but tried to stop when Hermione glared at him, her cheeks still blushing. As he nodded, he couldn't stop the chuckling every now and then. He opened his door and entered.

"What do you want to wear?" he asked.

"Anything that'll fit."

Harry searched for clothes that would fit her tiny frame. He had gone through his whole wardrobe, but all he found were his jogging pants and an old shirt that was too small for him. When he showed them to Hermione, she eyed them uncertainly.

"Eh," she said as she saw the shirt. It was black that proclaimed 'Quidditch Star' in gold, curvy letters.

"Nothing here fits you," Harry said. "They're all big, these are my smallest ones." He suddenly grinned, "Of course, if you don't want these, I wouldn't mind you walking around -"

_'Flirt!'_ said the voice. Harry pushed it to the back of his head, not wanting to be embarassed again.

"No, they're fine!" Hermione interrupted before he could finish his sentence. She grabbed them from him.

"Do you mind if I stay?" he asked cheekily. "I mean," he added hurriedly, "it's nothing I haven't seen before."

_'You're doing it again,'_ said the voice in a singsong voice.

This was true. No, they haven't seen each other in the buff, but yes, they had seen each other in their undergarments. They avoided this but, somehow, Harry changed otherwise.

Hermione glared at Harry, looking remarkably like McGonagall that Harry was about to say 'Hermione, stop that! Your face might get stuck and you'll look like McGonagall your whole life' but thought better of it as she was one of Hermione's favorite teachers.

"Fine," Hermione sighed. She took of her shirt and Harry looked elsewhere, feeling his face grow hot, suddenly wishing that he had just left. He knew that she was wearing something under, but he felt as though he was disrespecting her by watching. It shocked them out of their skin when someone barged in the once closed door.

It was Molly Weasley. Her eyes were practically shooting daggers at both of them, a wooden spatula still held tightly in her hand. She was closely followed by Ginny, her red hair flying about.

"Mom!" she said. "You don't know what their do -"

Her eyes widened at the sight before her. Harry couldn't blame her. It must have looked pretty ... er ... unnatural. Harry was sitting on the bed, while Hermione stood before him, her shirt on the floor.

Ginny dragged Molly out of the room despite her protests. Harry groaned and ran a hand through his hair. He always did that whenever he was frustrated.

_'Oh, great,'_ he thought miserably, _'she must have thought we were having sex.'  
_

_'You wouldn't mind if you were.'_

_ 'Leave me alone!'_

_ 'Okay! Okay .... for now.'_

He looked at Hermione, who quickly finished dressing up. They both walked to the kitchen without saying a word, knowing that was where the Weasleys were. When he said 'The Weasleys' that meant Ron and his family, Ginny's, Bill and his wofe Fleur, who was due anyday fir their first child, Fred, George and the parents.

Harry took a deep breath and went in with Hermione on his heels. To his surprise he saw Ron carrying his youngest daughter, Christi, on his shoulder. He thought that he wouldn't be back for another hour. When Ron spotted them he grinned, having heard the incident from Ginny.

"Umm," Harry began awkwardly. "We can explain."  
  
"And you better have a good explanation!" Molly Weasley said defiantly.  
  
With that, Harry and Hermione started their explanation, careful to say the same things they had told Ron. After they explained, no one spoke a word. The silence was killing Harry. He glanced at Hermione. She was fidgeting.

"Didn't know you had it in you!" Fred laughed.

"Way to go, mate!" Ron shouted cheerfully.

"Yeah, Harry," George said. "But next time, lock the door! I mean anyone can barge in!"

"Still wearing Harry's clothes, eh?" Fred winked.

Every adult in the laughed as Harry and Hermione turned an interesting shade of red. Ron had tears of mirth in his eyes, Fred and George howled along with Draco and Bill, Ginny and Fleur were chuckling and even Luna was smiling. Mrs. Weasley was smiling slightly, no matter how hard she tried not to.  
  
"I'm so happy for you, you guys," Fleur said once the racket had died down, her hand on her bulging stomache.  
  
"We're sorry for keeping this from you," Hermione said apologetically, her face back to its normal color. "We just wanted to keep Angel safe."  
  
They were chatting when a cry from one of the rooms upstairs interrupted them.  
  
"Angel must have woken up," Hermione stated, growing uncomfortable. The room grew quiet once more. Then, as one, the recipents of it exploded with questions.  
  
"Is it true she looks like you, Harry? Ron only told us this morning!"  
  
"Can I hold her?"  
  
"I feel sorry for her. I mean if she has your hair!"  
  
"A baby! Uncle Harry! A baby!"  
  
"We could baby sit her in the shop, Harry! It's never too late to start!"  
  
"Harry, we're going to have another great Quidditch player!"

"You can bring her to The Burrow!"  
  
"Yes, she does look like Harry. No she doesn't have Harry's hair like Harry's but she does have the color. Yes, Christi, Uncle Harry has a baby. No, thank, Fred. I'm not so sure about that, George. Quidditch is dangerous! And of course, Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione laughed.  
  
"I better get Angelica now," Harry said as he moved to the door.  
  
"Uncle Harry, can I come?! Can I?" Christi asked excitedly.  
  
"Sure, Chris. Come on."  
  
Harry and Christi went up the stairs and went inside Hermione's room. Sure enough, Angelica was crying. Harry picked her and bounced around. He was halfway around the room when he smelled something unpleasant. He stopped and laid her back down again. He peeped through the sides of the diaper and grimaced.  
  
_ 'Must call Hermione,'_ Harry thought. Just as he opened his mouth to shout her name, he closed it again. _'No!'_ he thought. _'I have to prove to her that I can do this!'_  
  
He took a deep breath and took out a clean diaper. Five agonizing minutes later, Harry entered the kitchen holding Christi's hand with his right and Angelica with the left.  
  
"Oh, isn't she beautiful!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. She rushed forward and took Angelica from Harry's arms. The other women surrounded her, pushing Harry out of the way as they did. The men, however, clapped him on the back.  
  
"Looking good, Harry!"  
  
"Harry?" Hermione suddenly asked from the other group, a note of laughter in her voice. "Did you change Angel's diaper?"  
  
"Yup!" Harry said proudly. He was rather confused when Hermione laughed. "What?"  
  
"It's inverted, Harry!"  
  
"What?" he asked stupidly.  
  
"You put it the other way around. This one should be in the front!"  
  
The women laughed as Harry turned red from embarrassment.

"Oh."  
  
"Men!" they muttered as one.  
  
The guys, who had been laughing at Harry as well, stopped.

"Hey!"

** That Afternoon**

Harry and Hermione sat in front of a dozen reporters and an even larger amount of people waiting to hear what they have to say. The Daily Prophet interview would be starting in just a few minutes. It was the first official interview in the Wizarding World for Angelica.  
  
Hermione scanned through the audience. She was amused to see that most of them were women and were sending her looks of jealousy. The Weasleys were just behind the press, sending smiles their way. Angelica was sitting on her lap, playing with one of her toys.

A few moments later, the interview started.  
  
"Mr. Potter," a man started, holding a quill up as though he planned to throw it at him, "Is it true that this child is yours and Ms. Granger's?"  
  
"Yes," Harry answered.  
  
"What is her full name?"  
  
"Angelica Lily Potter," Hermione replied.  
  
"How do you feel about being a parent?" a dark-haired wizard asked.  
  
"I feel happy that I finally have what I wanted ever since I was young, a family to love," Harry said, a faraway look in his eyes. "But I'm scared too," he added, "that I won't be a good father."  
  
"Why did you keep this?"  
  
"Because," Hermione said, "we didn't want people taking pictures of her when she is being taken out by her nanny," she lied, "and we wanted to protect her from anyone intending to harm her." She looked around. Rita Skeeter was among the crowd.

"Why did you choose now as a time to bring out the secret?"

_'Er,'_ Harry thought. They were asking questions back and forth so he reckoned that he should answer this one. _'Ummm.'_

"Because," Harry answered, "someone already found out about her when we went to a Muggle place."

Harry searched throught he crowd before him, sure that Rita Skeeter was there. Unsurprisingly, he saw her wearing a proud smile on her face.

"Do you have any plans of getting married?"

Hermione placed her hand on Harry's knee and leaned her head on her shoulder,wanting to make it look good for the cameras. Just as expected, camera bulbs were flashing everywhere.

"Not of today," Hermione replied.  
  
"When was she born, Mr. Potter?" a blonde witch asked.  
  
"She was born on ... umm ... June 21st this year," he finished uncertainly. Hermione took his hand and squeezed it gently.  
  
"Ms. Granger," Rita said, her eyes glinting, "how did you hide you pregnancy your pregnancy? Surely, someone must have noticed when you went to Muggle premiers? I did some researched on this matter and it stated very clearly that you cannot hide that baby once it begins to show."  
  
The people were muttering amongst themselves. How did she hide it?  
  
Hermione looked around. She didn't know what to say ...  
  
"Ms. Granger?"  
  
Hermione thought of something fast. Anything.  
  
"Well, you see," Hemione started a few seconds later. "My secret is out!" The look on her face was as though she was saying something she didn't wish to. Harry, though, knew that she was just stalling for some time to think. "It is true that you cannot hide the pregnancy once it begins to show, but it is true as well that you can switch on who would be carrying the child," she finished. She was glad that she had came up with an answer to give.  
  
Hermione just said anything. She just wished that this really was possible because when she read about this the last time, she was still in Hogwarts.  
  
"I'm sorry, but that is all for now," Harry said quickly, knowing there might behard questions they might not have answeres to. "It is time."  
  
There was a groan from the crowd as they stood up and left. After a short talk with the Weasleys, they got in the car. There were people surrounding them, taking pictures. Once they were out of sight, Hermione sighed.  
  
"That was close," Hermione said.  
  
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Very close."  
  
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked suddenly remembering something she knew she should have remembered sooner. "My parents! They don't know about this!"  
  
Harry's jaw dropped. He, too, had forgotten. The last time he had seen her parents, her father looked as though he wanted to strangle him when he kissed Hermione's cheek on her birthday about two years ago. Ever snce, Harry refused to go near her father. Hermione was forced to have to go to two parties whenever there was a traditional occasion.  
  
_'Maybe he changed,'_ Harry thought trying to comfort himself._ 'Maybe he's not that protective anymore. After all, Hermione's not his 'little girl' anymore, she's a lot older now.'  
_  
He quickly looked at Hermione. She was looking at him, crossed between emotions. She looked as though she wanted to cry, yet she looked like she wanted to laugh too.  
  
_'But what would he think if he thought I got his daughter pregnant and not being told about it until the baby's ols enough to talk?'_ Harry wondered as he parked the car. _'Last time I kissed her cheek on her birthday, he looked as though he wanted to skin me!'_

**Author's Note: ** I know that this chapter is not very good. I just wanted to post something as someone had urgently sent me a review asking me to update. I apologise for not updating sooner than ,I too, had hoped. I had just arrived from a long vacation at my aunt's, which was very cold, and am not feeling very well because of the sudden temperature change. I just can't think straight to right a chapter but I hope this one is at least acceptable. I'll review as soon as I feel better. Please continue reviewing, it'll bring a smile to my face.

**Next Chapter:**

_** "What do you mean 'daughter'?!"**_

_** "Dad, calm down!"**_

_** "How do you expect me to calm down when my little girl has a baby and not be married?!"**_


	4. The Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters.  
  
Summary:  
  
Author's Note: Thank you to all the people who had reviewed my story. I really appreciate it!

**The Baby**

**Chapter Four: Meet The Parents  
**

Harry trudged down the stairs the next day. He slumped in his chair as he sat down in the kitchen and smiled at Hermione, who was standing by the stove, frying eggs.  
  
"Morning, 'Mione," he grunted as he took a sip from the coffee Hermione had set in front of him.  
  
He didn't have a lot of sleep last night, granted as he dreaded this day. Aside from the fact that Angelica kept on crying in the middle of the night, today was the day he would have to face the wrath of Hermione's over protective parents. He had met her parents before, but that was when he and Hermione were only 'friends'. If he did not want to see her father when he found out Hermione's ex-boyfriend, Jake, kiss Hermione, he certainly didn't want to see him when he found out his only daughter had been more than friendly with her 'bestfriend' and had produced a child with the said person too.  
  
"Good morning!" Hermione said cheerfully as she put down a plate in front of him. It was Thursday today and it was her turn to cook. "Why the long face?"  
  
"You know," Harry said while he picked up his fork. "today is the 'Meet the Parents' day."  
  
"Harry, their not that bad," Hermione said as she sat down in front of him.  
  
Harry snorted, "Yeah, right."  
  
Hermione shook her head. "Honestly."  
  
"Can we please just go tomorrow?" Harry pleaded.  
  
"Harry, what's the difference of today and tomorrow?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes at the same time. "Just get it over it."  
  
Harry sighed, resigned. He knew that he could not persuade Hermione not to do something she already had her mind on. _'I just hope I live till Christmas.' _

At around six o'clock, the trio were driving to Hermione's parent's house in Surrey. One of the reasons he did not wish to go there was because there was a chance that they could bump into the Dursleys. It was a slim chance, but there _was_ a chance nonetheless.  
  
They were all dressed in Muggle clothing, as to not arouse any suspicions. There were a lot of people in the neighborhood and they hoped they would blend in. Hermione was dressed in jeans and a halter-top with a black jacket tied around her waist because it looked ready to rain. Angelica was wearing a sundress with matching a hat and sandals while Harry just had on a simple white shirt and dark jeans.

Hermione had admitted that it was the last a pair of clothing she had, Muggle or Wizard wise.

_"You better wash the clothes soon, Harry!" she had said before theyhad gotten in the car.  
_  
From the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face. He ignored it, telling himself that she was just thinking about somwthing very deeply. He passed it on as her nervousness about telling her parents.

"Herm?" Harry asked worried after a few more moments of her looking at him as though she had never seen him before in her entire life.  
  
"Hmm?" Hermione said as she turned her head away, her cheeks turning slightly pink, and looked and the houses passing by.  
  
"Why couldn't we tell Ron about Angelica?"  
  
"Harry," Hermione said, her cheeks back to normal. They returned to normal so fast that Harry thought he was just imagining her blushing, "how many times does Ron get drunk?"  
  
"What?" Harry questioned. "What does that have to do with anything?  
  
"Just answer the question."  
  
"At least once a week."  
  
"Exactly," Hermione said as-a-matter-of-fact while she looked around to check on Angelica.  
  
"Huh?" Harry asked puzzled.  
  
"When Ron gets drunk," Hermione replied, "he talks about his inner most secrets. What if he blabs this out? It's not that I don't trust Ron, but this is just too risky."  
  
"Oh, right." Now he understood her motives. Ron, indeed, did talk about his inner most secrets when he was drunk. "But what about your parents? Couldn't we tell them? They should understand."  
  
"Harry," Hermione sighed, "I don't mean to talk bad about my parents, but my mom gossips a lot and she might let it slip. My dad," Hermione continued, "wouldn't like his co-workers at the office thinking that his 'little angel' had done something she shouldn't have done until she was married."  
  
When they were just a block away, Harry tensed. What Hermione said frightened him more. Her father was obviously one of those who could not handle when their child was now grown up and an adult. He gripped the steering wheel harder. They were already on the driveway of the house, getting out of the car, when Hermione put a hand on Harry's arm.  
  
"Maybe you and Angelica should stay outside first," she suggested. When Harry looked at her questioningly, she added, "You know, it might give them quite a shock."  
  
Harry nodded. He could do that, he thought as he watched Hermione go to the back yard. He thought she did that so that when her parents opened the door for her, they wouldn't see Harry and a giggling baby at the backseat of the car. He took out Angelica from her car seat and placed her down on the grass. He watched her as she played with her teddy bear and giggled when it danced before her. He, too, had to admit how much Muggle technology had changed. It was more advanced now.  
  
He was staring to get bored and, it seemed, do was Angelica for she let go of her bear and started to crawl around the grass covered parts of the front yard. He wanted to get this over with, but that didn't mean he wasn't nervous. He looked at the parents and their children talking not far away from him. He turned away as he noticed a ten-year old girl squint in his direction. The last thing he needed now were people asking for his autograph.  
  
'Relax,' he told himself. 'It's not like the man's gonna kill you!'  
  
He took that back when, just a few moments later, a shout came from the house.  
  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE A BABY?!"  
  
He could hear Hermione trying to reason with her father. Angelica was startled at the sound and wailed while she crawled towards him.  
  
"WHERE IS HE?!"  
  
"Dad!"  
  
Harry bent down to pick up Angelica as she cried loudly. He took out a bottle from her baby bag and put it in her mouth, only to be pushed away.  
  
"Shhh," he cooed as he rocked her gently. This seemed to calm her down because she stopped crying, but she was still heard to hiccup now and then.  
  
"I SAID WHERE IS HE?!"  
  
Harry was nervous. Very nervous. When he saw how easily Angelica got scared, he imagined how scary it actually was when the man was in front of him.  
  
_ 'Hermione won't let anything happen to you,'_ he said trying to comfort himself. _'It's not like he's going to kill you!"  
_  
_ 'I wouldn't bet on that,'_ said a voice in his head as the front door banged open it was nearly thrown of its hinges.  
  
A man with a murderous expression on his face stepped out of it, Hermione just behind him, closely followed by a woman, who's face was pale but was, nonetheless, trying to calm her husband.  
  
"You!" the man shouted as he pointed a shaking finger at Harry in rage. "What have you done?!"  
  
Harry quickly put Angelica back on her car seat, just incase Hermione's father hit him. A few moments later, he was glad he did so as the man suddenly pushed him hard against the car's side.  
  
"Todd!" Hermione's mother screamed.  
  
"Monica, do you have any idea what this bastard did?!" Todd, as she had called him, shouted. "What he did to our daughter?!" He shook Harry as if to prove a point.  
  
Harry did not move. He knew that Todd had to take of some steam. He knew when he should be stopped, and now was not yet the time. He shook his head slightly at Hermione as she made a move to stop her ragging father. She walked swiftly to Angelica, who had now stopped crying, and held her tightly in her arms.  
  
"Boy!" Todd barked as he faced him. "What have you done?!"  
  
Harry was quiet.  
  
"Do you know how much this could change her life?!" Todd shouted  
  
Harry was silent. People were now starting to gather around them.  
  
"ANSWER ME!" he roared when Harry just stood there, pinned against the car.  
  
Harry did not say anything. This, if possible, angered Todd more. He pulled his fist back and hit Harry hard on his cheek.  
  
"DAD!" Hermione shrieked as she took a step towards them. The crowd was now silent, wanting to witness a real life drama unfold before their eyes.  
  
"Hermione, no!" Harry told her. At this, the people surrounding them muttered amongst each other. It was no secret that their neighbors were the parents of Hermione Granger, the famous movie star, but never saw her as Hermione rarely visited them.  
  
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HER?!" Todd screamed as he punched Harry across the face. Harry did not make a move to stop him. Instead, he turned his head slightly and looked at Angelica and Hermione. Angelica had started to cry again, as though feeling her 'father's' pain. Hermione, on the other hand, had tears streaming down her cheeks.  
  
Todd hit Harry in the stomach, who grunted and fell to his knees. He shut his eyes tightly in pain as a foot came in contact with his face. His cheek was hurting and his stomach was pounding. He felt Todd release him and opened his eyes slightly. Hermione and Monica, her mother, had pulled Todd of off him. Angelica was back in her car seat.  
  
Todd was fighting them off, but stopped when they did not let go. He glared at Harry before he turned to Hermione.  
  
"Pack your things," he said. "We'll pick them up later."  
  
"What?!" Hermione shrieked as she let go of her father and stood in front of him.  
  
"Pack your things," her father repeated with false calmness.  
  
"No," Hermione answered him boldly.  
  
"I'm you father, I told you to -"  
  
_SLAP  
_  
Hermione struck her father. It happened so fast that the next thing Harry knew was that Todd had a hand on his cheek and the crowd had, once again, irrupted in whispers.  
  
"You treat me like a little girl!" Hermione shouted. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I'm not young anymore!"  
  
"Hermione, were doing this for your own good!"  
  
"That's just the problem!" Hermione screamed. "I don't want you controlling my life!"  
  
"Hermione, ple -"  
  
"No!" Hermione interrupted. "I want a life of my own! I want a life without you always interfering in it!"  
  
"Swe -" Todd started, but was cut off by his daughter.  
  
"Don't you Sweetheart me!" Hermione shrieked as she hit her father in his chest with her finger. "I'm not your little girl anymore, whether you bloody like it or not!"  
  
Harry gazed at the crowd, his body sore. There was a stunned silence. There were women of all ages staring at the scene with their mouths open. Some men were looking uncomfortable. The children were watching intently as though it was their favorite cartoon show. Surprisingly, there was no one with a camera.  
  
"You can't tell me what to do!" Hermione cried.  
  
"I'm you fa -" Todd tried to reason.  
  
"To hell if you're my father! I don't give a damn!" Hermione screamed. "To me, you're nothing if you continue this. _Nobody."_  
  
"Hermione, don't you understand what he did to you?!" Todd said. "Now, you have a baby and you're not married yet! He gave you a responsibility you're not ready for!"  
  
"If you had forgotten, it takes two of the opposite sex to have a baby," Hermione replied. "It takes two! And if I wasn't willing, he wouldn't be here right now!"  
  
"I don't think th -"  
  
"I don't give a damn of what you bloody think! If you tell me to do something I don't want to, just sit down on your bloody arse and wait till you fucking die for it to happen because I'm not listening to what you bloody say anymore, you hear me? I don't give a fuck! "  
  
Harry, despite the situation, was shocked. He rarely heard Hermione swear. To be honest, he _didn't_ even _know _that she even knew_ that_ much swear words. He heard the crowd gasp at the words she had just said. He turned his head and saw some women cover the ears of their children, yet, they _continued_ to watch.  
  
"Hermione," her mother said softly. It was the first time she had spoken throughout their whole conservation. "Go home. Rest. I'll meet granddaughter properly some other time."  
  
"Thanks, Mum," Hermione said as she hugged her mother, tears welling up in her brown eyes. "Thank you."  
  
She sent a nasty look towards Todd, who's jaw dropped in shock at his wife's acceptance.  
  
"Come, Harry," Hermione said as she took his hand and led him to the passenger seat. "I'll drive." She got in the car and waited until Harry got in. She started the engine and called through the window she had just opened. The people, who were now starting to leave, stopped in their tracks to listen.  
  
"Mom, I'll talk to you later!" she said, not bothering to say good bye to her father.  
  
No one spoke for fifteen minutes. Harry kept on wincing every time he touched his cheek.  
  
"Oh stop that!" Hermione said as she laughed a little.  
  
"It hurts," Harry wined. "Really!" He let Hermione laugh before asking, "Are you okay?"  
  
"I just didn't expect _him _to act like that," Hermione said. She was careful to stress 'him'. "I knew he would be mad, but not that mad."  
  
"Hermione, I don't support what he did, but you _are_ his only child," Harry told her.  
  
Hermione was quiet. When the traffic lights were red, she said, "Do they hurt that bad?" She touched his cheek gently. "I'm sorry!" she said as he flinched.  
  
"No, it's okay."  
  
"I would heal it if I had my wand with me," Hermione sighed. "I left mine because we were in such a hurry." She started to go as the lights turned green again.  
  
"I left mine, too," Harry laughed. "I forgot mine on the table." He cringed a little as his cheek throbbed.  
  
No one said a word after that. They arrived home after a few more minutes. Hermione carried Angelica to her room because she fell asleep on the road, while Harry parked the car in the garage. His eyes traveled over the collections of automobiles that were stored.  
  
Ever since he had gotten a driver's license, he loved driving. He bought cars he liked. He couldn't help but grin at the expression on Hermione's face when she saw, yet another car parked. It wasn't something that she liked, but he allowed him to do so, saying that it was his money. Harry, though had the suspicion that she was just saying this because she wanted him to have some of the things he enjoyed. It wasn't like they weren't helping people in need of money, in fact, they had helped quite a lot of charities.  
  
Harry went up to the house and retrieved his wand before heading up the stairs. He was passing by Hermione's room when he heard her talking to her mother on the phone.  
  
"Yes, Mum, he's fine," Hermione assured her. "Of course you can come tomorrow." She paused to listen to what Monica was saying. "With Dad?" she asked. She sighed deeply. "Fine." She paused again. "Come by at nine tomorrow."  
  
Harry knew that he shouldn't be listening on private conversations his best friend had with her parents, so he went to his room and shut the door behind him. He sat on his bed and healed his bruises. He just hoped that tomorrow, Todd would be a lot calmer that he did a few minutes ago.  
  
****

****

**Author's Note:** I don't think this chapter is long enough, but I just had to write something in. I enjoy this story a lot now, seeing as I got to the part a want to write. Thanks for reviewing! I'll update soon. I would like to hear your suggestions.

_**Laen:** Sure you can. Thanks!_


	5. Heather Williams

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters.  
  
Summary:

Harry and Hermione are friends and live in the same house while Ron is married to Luna. Both of them are famous in both the wizarding and muggle world. A woman suddenly turns up in their doorstep with a baby telling them that the baby is not safe with her and if the people who are after her find out that the baby was hers, they would kill it. Hermione offers to look after the baby and take care of her child until her name was cleared. In this time, Harry and Hermione get closer ... Will they remain friends posing as a family..or something more? (H/Hr)  
  
** The Baby  
Chapter Five: Heather Williams  
**  
Harry went to the bathroom and looked at his reflection. Messy black hair that he inherited from his father and sparkling green almond shaped eyes; Lily's, his mother, eyes. Ever since he was younger, he had always tried to tame his hair, but now, it seemed as though it gave him a boyish look. He was no longer skinny, but he was not to too build either.  
  
He took of his shirt and looked at his stomach. There was a part that was partly blue. He could do Healing Charms, but he was having difficulties when he had to cast them on himself. He thought about asking Hermione to do it for him, but knew that she would get more upset than she already was with her father. He sighed and pulled if his pants, which he threw in the laundry basket.  
  
_ 'The laundry!'_ he thought smiling slightly._ 'I forgot to do the laundry!'  
_  
The laundry was pushed at the back of his mind because of his worries about the meeting. Aside from that, Angelica had been very demanding. She was always crying when she was left alone, and, no matter how much they tried, she just wouldn't go to sleep.  
  
Harry walked to his bed and sat down. He did not bother to wear more clothes that he had, because Hermione was an early sleeper. She never went in his room at night unless it was a life and death situation. Another reason was so that he would not irritate the bruise on his stomach. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.  
  
Harry woke up the next morning to voices at the bottom of the stairs. He distinctively heard Monica say "Where is she?".  
  
_ 'Hermione's parents!' _he thought. He looked at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was already forty-five minutes after nine. He quickly went to the bathroom and got cleaned up.  
  
He walked out the door just as the Grangers were passing his room Todd's eyes widened as he saw him, but stayed still. Hermione smiled, careful to keep a distance between her father and herself.  
  
"Morning, Harry!" Hermione said in greeting as she gave him light kiss on the cheek.  
  
Harry looked at her parents uncomfortably. They just looked back and forth waiting for the other to start first.  
  
Todd sighed. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said quietly.  
  
"Wha -?"  
  
"For yesterday," Tod said. "I'm sorry for what I did to you."  
  
"No, it's okay!" Harry replied. "Honestly!" he added, at the look Todd sent him  
  
"No, it's not okay! I could have killed you!" Todd said as he took a step towards him. Harry unconsciously took a step back. Todd shook his head lightly and stopped. "See what I mean?"  
  
"No, sir," Harry insisted. "It's fine."  
  
"If you're sure," Todd said uncertainly.  
  
Harry nodded. "I'm sure."  
  
"Well, then," Todd started. "Todd Granger," he said as he held out his hand.  
  
Harry stared at the hand held out in front of him before coming to his senses. "Harry," he replied smiling slightly shaking the offered hand. "Harry Potter."  
  
There was a sob from beside them. They saw Hermione crying as Monica tried to comfort her.  
  
"I love you, Dad!" she cried before darting forwards and hugging her father. Todd's eyes watered at what his daughter had said.  
  
There was a cry from one of the rooms. Hermione broke away from her father, wiping her eyes.  
  
"That's Angelica," she said. "She must have woken up. I'll be right back. I'll just get her."  
  
"I'll come with you!" Monica offered excitedly. Typical for a first grandmother.  
  
"No, no!" Hermione said quickly. "I'll get her ready first. You can talk to Harry." With that, she went to the room where the cries were coming from and entered the room without a backward glance.  
  
"Ummm," Harry started.  
  
"Oh, Harry!" Monica suddenly said and flung her arms around him. "We trust you," she said at the questioning look on his face. "Others would leave when they found out of the situation of their girlfriend! You stayed!"  
  
After that, the tension between Harry and Monica disappeared, but Harry's and Todd's was a different matter. They would look anywhere but the other. The door Hermione disappeared into opened and she came out with Angelica in her arms.  
  
Angelica wiggled out of Hermione's arms and crawled towards him. Harry cautiously picked her up as though he was afraid Todd would suddenly jump on him. Angelica stuck her fingers in her mouth, giggled and started poking his cheek with it.

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................  
  
Todd Granger was someone Harry did not wish to come across on when he was angry. He knew that he had a right to be protective over Hermione, but he just had to accept that his daughter had grown up however much he hated to admit.  
  
Harry was already half-asleep when the door burst open. Harry instinctively reached for his wand and pointed it at the intruder. He reached for his glasses with his other hand.  
  
"Harry!" he heard a familiar voice say. "Put the wand down!"  
  
Harry did as he was told. He knew that voice. He put on his glasses and grinned.  
  
"Heather?!" He asked as he stood up.  
  
Heather faked a look of anger and put her hands on her hips. Harry laughed and opened his arms.  
  
"Come 'ere!" Harry said. Heather laughed as well as she closed the door behind her. As she walked to Harry, her long, hair swished. Her hair was so black it looked almost purple. She, like Harry, was also magical. Her mother was a half-veela, miking her part.  
  
Heather Williams was one of the people Harry had worked with. She was one of the few photographers Harry could stand. When they were assigned to work on a project together, they became quick friends, but when they started they were, just like anyone in their position, a bit hesitant.

Harry had expected her to treat him as a royal, as arrogant as that may seem. He did not think that she would scream her lungs at him whenever he did something she didn't like. He thought that she was one of those girly-girls, but he was proven wrong when she hit him with her camera on the head when he tried to sneak out an hour early to meet Ron at a pub.

Everyone had assumed that they would date at one point or another, but they never did. Harry was one of those people who did not want to do something that could shatter something he valued, and in this one, there was something he'd rather not loose: their friendship. Aside from being friends, they had grown close during the years. Their love for each other was one like brother and sister.  
  
For some weird reason, Harry had always been more comfortable around Heather than he did with any girl, and that included Hermione. He felt something different he could not quite distinguish for the two women. With Heather, he felt like he was part of a family like he did when he was at the Weasleys. Even her parents accepted him. With Hermione, it was different, he felt something deep inside him. But, until now, he did not know what it was.  
  
The look on Heather's face disappeared as she walked towards him. Her crystal blue eyes darkened with worry at the sight of the black and blue mark on her friend's stomach.  
  
"What happened to you, Baby?" she asked.  
  
"It's nothing, Red," Harry dismissed as he hugged her.  
  
The two friends had nick names for each other. They, and only them, were the only ones that could call each other by those names. Heather had started to call Harry 'Baby', when they were shooting on a particularly long day. He had started to whine and complain about how hot it was. Harry's nickname for Heather was 'Red' because her eyes would turn an eerie red when she was mad. This was another reason why people often said that they were 'perfect for each other'. When this rumor started, they were careful to only call each other those names when no one was around. Unfortunately, they were being heard to do so every now and then.  
  
"Tell me what happened," Heather said. "You're hurt!"  
  
"No, it's nothing!"  
  
"Harry," Heather started, her voice growing impatient. "Tell me what happened."  
  
Harry sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. He knew Heather was just as stubborn as Hermione. _'We're talking about Red, why did Hermione pop in?'_

_ 'Since you started to have -'_

_ 'Leave me alone!' _Harry interrupted that annoying voice in his head. Fortunately, it did go away. But by doing so, he failed to hear what it wanted to say.  
  
"Hermion's dad," Harry answered her.  
  
"He did that to you!" Heather cried outraged, her eyes starting to glow red. "Just wait 'til I get my hands on him!"  
  
"No, no!" Harry said as his friend started for the door.  
  
"Give me a good reason!" Heather shouted as she crossed her arms on her chest.  
  
At this, Harry told her the scene about the fight. By the end of the story, Heather was, if possible, even redder that she was before. Harry was secretly glad she was not a pure veela as she might suddenly throw fireballs everywhere.  
  
"Why didn't you hit him back, idiot!" she shrieked.  
  
"Cam down! Nothing bad happened," Harry said as he stroked her back.  
  
Heather moaned in protest. "You're too caring for your own good, ya know?"  
  
Harry smiled. "I guess."  
  
"Let me see that wound of yours," Heather said as she pulled away from his embrace. Harry tried to push her hand away, but at the look Heather gave him, he stopped in defeat. She caressed it gingerly and looked at him. "Lie down," she instructed. "This was a pretty hard blow."  
  
Harry did so while she went in the bathroom. She came out only a few minutes later carrying a wet towel in her hand. She sat down on the edge of the bed and cleaned the bruise. Harry winced slightly.  
  
"You know," Heather started, a joking tone in her voice, "you're pretty decent at night now. When you used to live by yourself you would walk around na -"  
  
"Red!" Harry interrupted, his cheeks growing red. "Don't talk about that!"  
  
Heather chuckled and pulled out her wand. She pointed it at the sore spot and muttered a few words under her breath. Within seconds, the bruise was gone.  
  
"There!" she said. "All better. Why didn't you ask Hermione to do this for you anyway?"  
  
"She sleeps early," Harry replied as he fingered the spot where the wound had been. "Thanks."  
  
"No problem," Heather answered. "I just came here to ask if the stuff on the newspapers were real. They said something about a baby?"  
  
"Oh, that," Harry said. "Yeah, those were real."  
  
He wanted to tell Heather about the truth, but he had to ask Hermione first. After all, Heather didn't drink.  
  
"How come you never told me anything?" Heather asked, hurt evident in her eyes.  
  
"Hermione told me not to," Harry said as he sat up. "Hold on, I better put on some clothes." He stood up and headed to his closet, looking for clothes to wear. He was having a hard time since all the things he could find were already a size or two smaller for him. He must have taken quite a long time because Heather already lied down on the bed he had been in before.  
  
_ 'Better wash the clothes tomorrow,'_ he said to himself. He walked to Heather, who now had her eyes closed, a look on her face that said that she was deep in thought

.  
"What are you thinking about, Red?" he asked as he buttoned his shirt.  
  
"Harry," she said quietly, sitting up from her position. "I thought you trusted me."  
  
"I do," he sighed as he sat down, his shirt half buttoned. He watched silently as Heather started to finish where he left off. "Hermione just told me not to." He kissed her temple as her hands paused on the third last button.  
  
Heather smiled slightly. "I guess I shouldn't be mad at you," she said. "There are just somethings that we can't tell each other, right?"

"Yeah," Harry answered softly, "I guess. You know that you're very scary when you're mad, right? Even scarier that Todd? You know, Herm's dad?"

"Why you -!" Heather growled.

"'Why you' what? Smart, charming wizard? I knew that," Harry teased.

Heather laughed and punched him playfully in the arm. In return, Harry pounced on her and tickled her sides. They rolled around on the bed, laughing their heads of as the other tickled them. They reached the end of the bed and fell off of it with a loud 'Thump'.

"That hurt!" Harry complained as Heather sat on top of him to keep him from standing.

"You're such a baby, you know that?" Heather laughed as she placed both of her hands on his chest.

"Hey!" Harry said putting on a look of fake hurt on his face. He let out a moan as Heather massaged his shoulders. She always did this to him when ever he was stressed out about something.

Just as Heather opened her mouth to say something, the door burst open and Hermione walked in, her eyes on a piece of parchment held on her hand.

"Harry," she started, "Proffessor Dumbledore sent an owl as -" she stopped talking as she saw the scene before her. "I didn't know you were busy! I'm so sorry!" she said as she ran out of the door, dropping the letter as she left.

"I'm sorry!" Heather apologised, panicked, as she got off him. "She must have thought that we -!"

"Oh, great," Harry moaned as he took the hand she offered him and stood up.

"Maybe I should talk to her and explain that there was nothing going on," Heather suggested.

"No," Harry said at once as he picked up the letter and read it quickly.

Heather and Hermione were not exactly friends. They were always at odds. Heather had always wanted to be friends with her, but Hermione did not return the feeling for reasons Harry did not know. This let Heather down, but she got over it quickly and had, ever since, a dislike for Hermione.

"On, no," Harry muttered.

"What?" Heather asked. She grabbed the parchment from his hand and read it.

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_ We apologise for disturbing you at this hour, but we need a proffesor to fill in the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. We assumed that, if possibly, you have no plans for the next few days, you can fill in this job. Our current proffesor has to leave for an emergency because of family problems. Please owl us of your decision. If you agree, please be at the Headmaster's office tomorrow 7 a.m. because of the plans for the day and if you decline, we will understand and please owl us as soon as poccible. You are welcome to bring Ms. Granger if you wish. Proffessore Dumbledore and I would certainly like to see the newest addition to your life._

_ Sincerly,_

_ Proffessor M. McGonagall_

_ Deputy Headmistress_

_ Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

"What am I going to do?" Harry asked while he scribbled on a parchment saying that he'll come and called for Hedwig. "I can't say no to someone who has done so much for me." Hedwig came soaring in through the window. Harry watched as Hedwid flew out and disappeared. "Hermione's upset with me about something," he said to Heather.

"About what, Harry?" Heather questioned.

"She's upset that you and I are friends," Harry replied, he himself confused. "I just don't know why."

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Author's Note: Thank you all for the reveiws you had sent. I appreciate them. I'll try to update soon.


	6. Back To Hogwarts

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any familiar Harry Potter characters.  
  
**Summary: **Harry and Hermione are friends and live in the same house while Ron is married to Luna. Both of them are famous in both the wizarding and muggle world. A woman suddenly turns up in their doorstep with a baby telling them that the baby is not safe with her and if the people who are after her find out that the baby was hers, they would kill it. Hermione offers to look after the baby and take care of her child until her name was cleared. In this time, Harry and Hermione get closer ... Will they remain friends posing as a family..or something more? (H/Hr)  
  
**Author's Note:** Just as everybody else had noticed, I have character not many people like, I decided to take the risk of getting all the reviewers flame me because of this. But I just had to put her there for reasons you will know in the later chapters.  
  
**The Baby  
  
Chapter Six: Back to Hogwarts  
**  
After many long years, Harry had, once again, found himself seated in the Headmaster's office. It was a room he had not been in since he had started school. Sure he visited Hogwarts sometimes, but he never went back to that part of the castle for reasons unknown to him.  
  
"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall, who was standing across from him and next to the Headmaster's chair, began with a voice of authority, "we would like to thank you for accepting the task we gave you."  
  
"It's nothing, really," Harry replied modestly.  
  
"You will find all of the things needed on your office," she continued as though he didn't say anything. "Please be down the Great Hall for breakfast for introductions."  
  
"Okay," Harry said.  
  
"Now, Harry," Professor Dumbledore said from his desk, "where, may I ask, is Ms. Granger?"  
  
Harry squirmed in his seat. In truth, he did not know how or where Hermione was. When he woke up early this morning, she was not in her room. Neither was Angelica. He assumed that she had just taken her out for a morning walk.  
  
"She's – er -- at home," Harry answered. "Resting."  
  
He did not need to share his personal troubles with the Headmaster and his former Head of House.  
  
"How is the child?" Professor McGonagall asked.  
  
"Uh, Angelica? She's fine."  
  
"We hoped to see Ms. Granger and Angelica," she explained. "From all the rumors going around the school, I had to see for myself."  
  
"Maybe, you'll see them later," Harry said. "They might come by."  
  
True, they _migh_t come by. Hermione had never passed an opportunity to visit Hogwarts.  
  
"We will see each other at breakfast," Professor McGonagall said. "And one more thing, we will show you to your room tonight."  
  
Harry took that as a cue to leave. He stood up and went to his new office, the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. Thankfully, he did not meet anyone on the way. It was unusual to be entering the room. He had entered it numerous times before, but as a student, not a substitute teacher. He sat on the desk on the front of the room and looked around. It was just as he had remembered it. He sighed and started his planning ...  
  
When Harry entered the Great Hall, all the students stopped talking to each other. They had seen Harry Potter before, he visited all the time. But they couldn't help it. He strode to the empty chair on the staff table. He chuckled at the look on Snape's face. The Potions master had always wanted the postion of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry secretly thought that if nobody accepted the part, he would be the one teaching it, which was one of the reasons he decided to take it.  
  
"As you all know," Professor Dumbledore started, seeing as none of the students were talking, "Professor Edwards is unable to teach, due to an emergency. Mr. Potter has taken the liberty of taking his place for the time being."  
  
The reaction of the students was just as he expected. The boys grinned and the girls giggled and whispered to each other.  
  
Harry finished his breakfast and went back to his office, just to make sure everything was planned. Just a few minutes later, the door opened and students came in, filling in seats. Seventh Years. He glanced at his watch. Fifteen minutes 'til class actually started.  
  
When the door opened, Harry looked up, expecting to find a student, but was mildly surprised when a woman of around his age stepped in. The woman had short, blonde hair and hazel eyes. She scanned the room quickly, then walked up to Harry.  
  
"Potter," she said in greeting, flashing him a smile.  
  
"Ethelsan," Harry nodded. He knew her from work, though he didn't like her much himself. Gwen Ethelsan was the type of girl that Harry disliked. She was very giggly when it came to boys and she flirted more that all of the Seventh Year girls put together ... at least Harry thought she was. Another thing was that she seemed to have a certain liking to him. There was something about her that he was not comfortable with.  
  
"I just thought I'd drop by," she told him. "I volunteered to help Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing."  
  
"Great," Harry lied, and bit back a grin when he saw her struggling to sit on his desk. Gwen was short ... very short. She stood at 5'1 and even then, she was wearing three-inched heels.  
  
"Anyway," Gwen said once she gave up, "I was just wondering if you wanted some company?" She walked to around the table and next to Harry. She reached for his arm and ran her hand up and down. "I can come over tonight," she suggested seductively as she leaned closer to him.  
  
"No," Harry said prying her hand off, but she wouldn't let go. "Let go."  
  
"Why, Harry?" she asked as she looked at him. "Why not?"  
  
Harry didn't really know why.  
  
"Because," he said, "Hermione." He did not really have anything else to say, so he said the first thing that popped in his mind.  
  
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," Gwen pouted.  
  
"I'm not betraying her," Harry stated firmly. In truth, he wouldn't be, but he felt like he was. Not just because of the Angelica situation, but because of something else he couldn't quite make out.  
  
"You seriously don't love that Mudblood do you?" Gwen snorted. "I mean, you're only with her because you got her knocked up and you stayed with her to keep your decency."  
  
Harry was getting angrier at every word she said. His hands were clenched into fists in anger. Gwen, it seemed, didn't notice anything out of ordinary and kept on talking.  
  
"She's so boring and plain," Gwen was saying. "I have no clue why the kid turned out like she did with her mother so ugly. I even doubt it if she's not screwing some random guy in bar when you're not home. And it can't be that girl – Heather Williams, was it? Everyone knows that you just like her because of her looks. But Harry, can't you see? I'm loads more prettier than her."  
  
That was it. Harry was very collected when it came to things like this. But Gwen, with all the things she said about Hermione, pushed him over the edge. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he stood up from his seat quickly, making Gwen jump, and faced her.  
  
"Don't you ever call her that word again," Harry said through gritted teeth. "Hermione is one of the most beautiful women I know and she is one of the nicest too." The blonde's jaw dropped, but he wasn't done yet. "Hermione would never sink as low as you. And Heather is a hundred times more attractive than you," he said as calmly as he could. "Get out."  
  
"Harry -"  
  
"Get out."  
  
"But -"  
  
"I SAID GET OUT!"  
  
"I'll get you," Gwen said. "I'll do anything to get you." She then stood up and scrambled to the door. She then slammed it as hard as she could after giving Harry a pointed look.  
  
Harry was breathing hard. He glanced at his watch. He still had four more minutes before his students came. He sat back down and put his head in his hands. What happened to him? He doesn't lash out on people like that, much less, to girls.  
  
Harry's first day of teaching went fairly well except when the students kept on asking about his personal life, specifically about his 'little baby Angelica' and if it was possible if they could meet her. He had been telling them some stories of some of his adventures, careful to add in bits and pieces about certain spells and creatures to make the class more interesting. Once the bell rang, dismissing the class, Harry heard bits of conversations going between the students.  
  
"He's so cool!" A student with brown hair exclaimed.  
  
"I thought he was gong to be one of those big-headed people," a boy exclaimed. "But he was the complete opposite!"  
  
Harry smiled and just went back to his work, getting ready for the next class to come in. During supper, Harry was once again reminded by Professor McGonagall that Hermione and Angelica had not been in the castle and that she would show him to his room after he ate.  
  
Just as she said, Professor McGonagall showed Harry to his room once he had finished eating. It was decorated with colors of the four Houses of Hogwarts. The room made him feel at home. What disappointed greatly was that Hermione did not visit.  
  
He sighed and looked at a picture of Angelica and Hermione that was on his bed side table. He took it when she was feeding Angelica. Neither knew that he was there. He stared hard at Hermione. It was true that she wasn't drop dead gorgeous, but she was beautiful. The Hermione in the picture was softly singing to Angelica and Angelica seemed to be falling asleep.  
  
As he looked at her, he felt something in his stomach flutter. It was as though something erupted with in him. Something that wanted to get out of him for a very long time. Something he always avoided at all costs. He couldn't point out what it was because he had never felt that way before. He sat up hastily when there was a knock on his door.  
  
"Come in!" he shouted. The door opened to reveal Heather. She closed the door and walked to him. Harry smiled and hugged her before telling her to sit beside him.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.  
  
"I know about your fight," Heather said quietly. "Your fight with Hermione. I'm sorry."  
  
"Listen, that wasn't your fault!" Harry told her.  
  
"Yes it is! She thought we were doing something we were not suppose to!"  
  
"Red, don't worry about that," Harry told her. "She'll come around soon."  
  
"Yeah, but she thinks that you don't like her."  
  
"Of course I like her," Harry said. "She's the mother of my daughter."

"Harry, you know that's not true."

"What do you -"

"Harry, I know about your secret," Heather said in a low voice. "I know that Angelica's not yours and I also know who her mother is."

Harry stared at her dumbfounded.

"What are you t -?"

"You know very well what I'm talking about!"

"How did you -?"

"That's not important," Heather interuppted. "What's important is that she knows you care about her."

"She knows I care about her," Harry said. Not bothering to deny that Angelica was not, indeed, his or Hermione's, knowing that, somehow, she found out. "She's my friend."  
  
"Not like that!" Heather laughed. "Like her as in want to be with her!"  
  
"No!" Harry said quickly. "I don't like her like that!"  
  
"Harry, admit it!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Harry, I've known you for many years," Heather said softly. "I know how you look at her and they way you look at other girls."  
  
Harry looked down. Did he really? "Harry, look at me," Heather said as she pulled up his chin. "I'm not forcing you to tell me. I just want you to know that I'm always here to listen."  
  
It was silent for few moments before Harry decided to tell her what was troubling him. He took a deep breath and started to talk.  
  
"Maybe I do like her in a way I don't want to," Harry stated. "I do now, but I'll get over it," he said. "I have to."  
  
A small smile appeared on Heather's face. "Your heart decides whom it likes and whom it doesn't," she said gently.  
  
"I'll get over her," Harry said resolutely.  
  
"Don't lie to yourself , Harry," Heather said. "You know that's not true."  
  
"Harry, you can't tell your heart what to do," Heather said lightly as she put her had over his. "It does it on its own. It does it when you least expect it or even when you don't want it to."  
  
"Heather, I didn't know you were into this kind of talk," Harry laughed. "I still don't believe in those. I'm sorry."  
  
"Harry, you're such a baby!" Heather said impatiently. "I know it's true and you do too!"  
  
He knew that what she was saying was true. But he refused to admit it to her ... to himself. Harry turned his head to look at her.  
  
"If I do tell her, she might not have the same feelings I feel for her," he said sadly.  
  
"You'll never know if you don't try, Harry," she said.  
  
"Have you ever decided not to become a couple with a friend because you were too afraid to loose everything you had with them? No!" Harry asked with a lot more force than he intended. "That's how I feel right now!" he shouted. "Not that you would know!"  
  
Heather stood up, shaking her head lightly. She crossed the carpet to the door and Harry immediately regretted his harshness her. She placed a hand on the doorknob and looked back at Harry.  
  
"Harry," she began softly, "I do know how you feel. I know better than you think."  
  
"What?" Harry asked confused.  
  
"Yeah, I do know," Heather laughed bitterly. "Only when I decided to tell that person, it was too late."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Too many of us stay walled up because we are too afraid to care too much for fear .... For fear that the other person does not care as much, or don't even care at all."  
  
"Red, I don't want to take that chance," Harry told her. "I'm scared."  
  
"That's why you deny your feelings for someone. Because your fear of rejection is just too hard to handle," Heather said. "Life is all about risks, and it requires you to jump." With that, Heather opened the door, stepped out and was about to close it when Harry suddenly called out for her.  
  
"What?" she asked smiling.  
  
"Who was it?"  
  
"Who was what?"  
  
"Who was the person you loved?"  
  
"You really are thick, you know that?" Heather smirked. "Really, _really,_ thick."  
  
"Hey!" Harry protested. "I'm not thick!"  
  
"Could've fooled me!" Heather laughed. Harry motioned for her to come back and sit down but she shook her head. "I better get going, it's pretty late. And besides, I still need to drop something off by a Muggle car early tomorrow morning."  
  
"Take care, Red!" Harry said. Heather smiled.  
  
"Don't worry, I will," she said. "Bye, Baby!"  
  
"You're not mad at me then?" Harry said relieved. "I mean when you call me by actual name when we're alone, that's when I know you're pretty angry."  
  
"I'm not angry," Heather said. "Just a little irritated." Harry pouted. "Fine, I'm not!" she laughed. "Bye!"  
  
"See you tomorrow?" Harry asked, a weird feeling in his stomach.  
  
"Sure," Heather smiled. She waved one last time and closed the door.  
  
There was a feeling in his stomach that he couldn't shake off. He felt dread. He turned in his sleep but he couldn't get any. Instead, he stared at the ceiling and thought about what Heather had said. He would put that in the back of his mind for a while. What Heather said could wait... couldn't it?  
  
Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate them. I'll update soon!  
  
-Ria


	7. Goodbye

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters.

Summary: Harry and Hermione are friends and live in the same house while Ron is married to Luna. Both of them are famous in both the wizarding and muggle world. A woman suddenly turns up in their doorstep with a baby telling them that the baby is not safe with her and if the people who are after her find out that the baby was hers, they would kill it. Hermione offers to look after the baby and take care of her child until her name was cleared. In this time, Harry and Hermione get closer ... Will they remain friends posing as a family..or something more? (H/Hr)

Author's Note: Thank you for reviewing! I am terribly sorry if I have mistakes here, I just didn't update for such a long time and here I am writing this in the middle of the night.

**The Baby**

**Chapter Seven: Goodbye**

Harry was pacing around his room, the girls sighing as he walked pass them. Today, he was teaching third years how to repel boggarts. He laughed inwardly at the reaction he could get from girls. After a few more minutes of lecturing, he set his students to read a chapter from their book. Once everything was in order, he sat on the chair behind his desk.

He ran a hand through his chair, ignoring the sighs and giggling coming from the girls that were seated directly in front of him. What Heather had told him last night had really bothered him, adding to the fact that Hermione still refused to talk to him. Was it possible that he was falling for his best friend, Hermione?

_'No,'_ he told himself_. 'Red was just teasing me as always.'_

_'How would you know if she was teasing you this time?' _

Harry sighed himself. The annoying voice in his head was back. Though it did have a point.

This issue also confused Harry. Why did she react that bad anyway? It wasn't like he and her were really together, so it really wasn't a big deal. Sure, it would be reckless if it was some other woman and a nosy reporter suddenly got wind of it, but this was Heather! He had sent Hermione a lot of letters, only to have them returned unopened.

_'And what do you mean you're 'not sure?''_ the voice continued_. 'You know very well that you love her! _

_'I just need time to sort my feelings out, okay?'_ he replied, starting to get mad. _'And maybe what I felt then was just a spur of the moment kind of thing.'_

The voice did not respond. And Harry smiled, please with himself. He scanned his students and was about to tell three boys in the back of the class to get back to stop talking and get back to work when the door was opened so hard that it was nearly knocked of it's hinges. Some people screamed in surprise.

Harry turned to the door, furious about the rude interruption. He opened his mouth to say something but closed in immediately when he saw that it was Hermione. She was shaking and her face was tear-stained. She ran to him and hugged him so tight he thought he was going to suffocate if she wasn't going to let go of him soon. However, some part of him didn't mind, which angered him.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed. "What happened?"

"I-it was awful!" Hermione said through her tears.

"Hermione?" Harry said, starting to get worried. At first, he had thought, no matter how conceited it was, that she came in like this because of their 'fight'. But now, he was sure that it was because of something else, something much more serious.

"It's H-Heather," Hermione choked out. Harry froze Heather? What was wrong with her? He just saw her last night and she was fine.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice louder than he intended. At hearing the volume of his voice, Hermione cried harder.

"It was all my fault!" Hermione wailed. Someone from the back of Harry's mind told him to dismiss the students, but he ignored it. The students, who went unnoticed by him, were watching the scene before them through curious eyes.

"Hermione, tell me what happened?" Harry repeated. Surely, it couldn't be that bad?

"Heather – she's – in – the – hospital," Hermione said through her sobs. "At – St. – Mungo's."

Harry didn't need telling twice. That was all he needed before he ran out his office. Hermione folllowed after him, her crying lessening. The students they left behind were staring at the door, their mouths open.

When one person finally found their voice, he voiced what they had all been thinking about.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?"

Harry didn't know how he got to St. Mungo's as fast as he did. He came to a halt in front of Heather's room, trying to get pass the Healers who refused to let him in.

"Sir," one of the Healers gasped as Harry struggled against them to get inside. "You will be able to go inside in a few moments!"

"Let me in!" Harry shouted. "I'm Harry Potter!" he said as though that would solve the problem.

"Harry Potter or not, you will still need to follow the hospital's rules. Please, sir," a brunette lady said. "We will be forced to call security if you do not stop this."

Harry knew by the strict expression on her face that she won't be changing her mind just by him mentioning his name. He never used that as an excuse to let him get something he wanted, but this time, he just couldn't help himself.

Harry went to sit by one of the chairs outside of Heather's room. This had to be a nightmare. It just had to be! He will wake up at any moment and Heather would drop by just as she had said the day before.

He told this to himself over and over again, but when Hermione dropped beside him, he knew that this was more than a nightmare. It was real. He shut his eyes tightly, refusing to show any emotion that might betray his feelings. After a long pause, he turned to Hermione.

"Angelica's with Professor Lupin."

"What happened?"

"Harry - "

"Tell me."

Hermione looked down knowing that she had no choice. She pulled out her wand and pointed at Harry. As she muttered a few words, Harry opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but was silenced when an image, a moving one, appeared before his eyes.

_Hermione and Angelica were by the pond in the park not far from their home. Angelica was making gurgling noises as Hermione laughed at her._

_"Aren't you a sweetie?" she exclaimed. "We'll work on your walking soon." She picked her up and Angelica pulled at her hair. "No, honey, don't do that -"_

_She was cut of when a purplish blue light passed by her head and hit the tree behind them, which was blown to bits. Hermione got up and ran as fast as she could, Angelica in her arms. She was aware that whoever cast the spell was right behind her, not far behind. She reached for her wand but even more panicked when it wasn't there._

_She screamed as another curse was cast and rushed to the maze in the middle of the park. She went in quickly, hoping that she would loose whoever was following her. She knew the maze as well as her favorite book, 'Hogwarts: A History'._

_She turned, left and right, noting that the footsteps of the intruder was fading. Once she got out, she ran to the Washrooms which were close to the water park and hid in one of the cubicles. She desperately hoped that someone will notice this strange behavior and call the police or better yet, get spotted by a witch or wizard and alert the Ministry._

_Angelica started to whimper as Hermione checked her pockets one more time for her wand. Hermion's eyes grew wide as she heard this. _

_"No, please," Hermione whispered urgently. "Angelica, no. Don't cry -"_

_The door was pushed open roughly as the doors of the other cubicles were thrown open. Hermione backed up until she felt the toilet's seat against her knees. She covered Angelica's body with her own as the door of their stall flew open._

_"Well, well, well," a voice drawled._

_"W-what do you want?"_

_"What do I want?" the person said. "I want you and that little girl dead."_

_"Leave us alone!" Hermione shouted. She gingerly put Angelica down, but her eyes were trained on the wand pointed directly at her._

_Upon closer inspection, the hooded figure before her was quite short. Her voice also sounded remarkably as though it belonged to a woman. Hermione clearly looked as though she was thinking about using physical fighting, but thought better of it._

_"Why should I?" the woman asked._

_"We never did anything to you," Hermione answered as she stepped in front of Angelica in case the woman fired._

_The woman laughed bitterly. "With you gone, I can have what I want."_

_"What do you want?" Hermione clearly had no choice except to stall the woman, keep her attention elsewhere for as long as she could just in case someone came to help._

_"You know what I want," she said coldly. "When we were at Hogwarts, I was just this unknown brat that no one liked. I was an outcast. I instead, I just focussed in academics, hoping I would get recognized there. I failed because of you. Years later, someone caught my eye. Again, you beat me to him. But now, more than one person stands in my way, and I plan to change that!"_

_Hermione shook her head and raised her hand, which she found out a moment later was a wrong move because the cloaked figure suddenly averted the position of her wand to Angelica, who was crawling from behind Hermione._

_"Stop or she gets it!" the woman said. Hermione stopped and brought down her arm. Gwen pointed her wand at Hermione and ropes wrapped themselves around her. Hermione was about to say something when something, or someone, hit the woman before her, which caused her to fall to the floor, the wand knocked still held in her hand._

_"Argh," the woman shrieked as she fell. She sat up so fast that the hood covering her face was thrown backwards. Hermione's jaw dropped. Gwen Ethelsan? _

_"Get up and roll your wand towards me," a familiar voice stated carefully. _

_"Why should I listen to you?" Gwen spat out as she stood up, but refused to listen to Heather. "Stupefy!" _

_Heather dodged the curse easily and said, "Stop or I will have no choice!"_

_"Give me what you've got," Gwen said rather dramatically. Heather studied her for a moment before nodding to Hemione, indicating that she should step back._

_"But -" she protested._

_"Hermione, listen to me," Heather said firmly. Hermione reluctantly stepped back, making sure that Angelica was behind her. For a moment, Heather and Gwen looked at each other, as though forming an unspoken agreement._

_"Crucio!" Gwen cried. She said this so suddenly but Heather, who seemed experienced with these kind of situations, was ready._

_"Expelliarmus!" she fired back, but missed._

_Gwen laughed. "I'm not that easy, if that's what you're thinking," she sneered. "I was with the Dark Lord before."_

_"You're a Death Eater?" Hermione asked, unable to keep her mouth shut._

_"I joined to get the revenge I wanted so badly!" Gwen sneered "Avada Kedavra!" An emerald light shot out of her wand, towards Heather, who barely dodged it because of few feet between them. There as only about fourteen._

_"We can talk about this," Heather began cautiously, her footing never went unbalanced. "You don't have to do this."_

_"Like you won't send me to Azkaban?" Gwen said coldly. _

_"Gwen, please, put down your wand."_

_Gwen laughed. "When I do, what will you do?"_

_What Heather did next was either stupid, or brave. She put down her wand._

_"There," she said. "I'm not armed. Please, talk to us."_

_Gwen's eyes were wide in disbelief. "You know," she suddenly started to cry, "I didn't mean anything of what I did."_

_"What?" Heather said._

_"I didn't mean it!" she sobbed, her hands brought up to her face. Heather walked to her slowly. When she was about three feet from Gwen, Gwen suddenly lifted her face and smirked. She yelled something, her wand pointed at Heather, something undistinguishable. A light, black and green mixed together, came out. Heather was too close to move out of it's way. It hit her in the chest and she fell backwards, motionless. Gwen grinned picked up her wand, and snapped it. She then turned to Hermione. They were five feet apart._

_"Now that she was out of the way, where were we?"_

_Hermione glared at her, then looked at Heather. She wasn't moving. "What did you do to her?"_

_"Nothing," Gwen said as she twirled her wand between her fingers. She winced as Angelica cried. "Let's silence her, shall we?" _

_"No!"_

_"Avada Ked -" She was cut of when Heather, who came back into consciousness, threw her whole weight into her where they toppled on the floor. Gwen's wand rolled out of her hand. She threw Heather off of her, who looked as though she was going to collapse any moment and reached for it. Heather watched helplessly as Gwen narrowed her eyes at her and looked in Hermione's direction. She walked to her and stopped about five feet away, which was two feet away from where Heather was._

_"You will watch the Mudblod die," she said speaking to Heather, yet, her eyes were trained on Hermione. She opened her mouth to say an incantation and just as she was finishing the spell, Heather pulled herself in front of Hermione. She had used the same spell she had used before. It hit Heather the second time. _

_"Crucio!"_

_"Heather!" Hermione shrieked as Heather leaned against her, unable to hold herself up._

_"I'm -" Heather began softly as her eyes began to close._

_Gwen's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I'll just kill her!"_

_"- sorry."_

_"Avada -"_

_"Take -"_

_"Kedav -"_

_"-care."_

_"Expelliarmus!" a new voice shouted from the door entrance. The wand in Gwen's hand was knocked out of her grasp. She turned around fiercely just as the new comer yelled 'Stupefy!'. She slumped to the floor, knocked out._

The scene before his eyes disappeared. The white walls returned and Hermione's sobbing could be heard.

"It's my fault she's – she's - " Hermione wailed. He shouldn't have let her go. He felt something bad was going to happen last night.

"Mr. Potter?" A red-headed Healer asked. "Ms. Granger?"

Harry stood up quickly. "Can we see her?"

"Mr. Potter we need to inform you of how she is doing," the Healer said. When Harry looked closer, he saw that her nametag read: Nicole Saltindiek.

"Look, Healer Saltindiek, I really need to see my friend," Harry insisted.

"Mr. Potter, you need to listen to me," Healer Saltindiek said.

"But -!"

"Harry," Hermione said. She was now just crying silently, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Listen to her." Harry sighed angrily and ran his hand through his hair.

"Okay."

"Listen - "

"What do you think we're doing?" asked Harry rudely.

"Harry!"

"As I was saying," the Healer continued. "We tried everything we can do about the curse she was hit with, but it was just too strong."

"What? What curse?"

"She was hit with a Dark Spell -"

"What does it do?" Hermione interrupted quietly.

"It poisons the organs slowly and it multiplies very fast," Healer Saltindiek informed them. "Normally, it would take about an hour for it to fully spread, but since she was hit with two and a curse that doesn't actually get along with the first two ..."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, his voice breaking and his eyes stinging. He knew the answer, but he had to hear it himself for him to believe it.

"Since she was hit with two curses," said Healer Saltindiek, "the spell would spread twice as fast. And since it was hit with the Unforgivable Curse, that will make it work faster."

Harry blinked fast. "Can't you do anything?"

Healer Saltindiek's eyes softened. "We're sorry," she said as Harry turned his head. He wouldn't cry if front of someone. "We tried everything, but there are just too much parts affected."

"Isn't there any kind of magic? Anything you can do?" Hermione asked desperately, she had stopped her crying. She sighed when the healer shook her head. "Can we go in?" Hermione pushed the door open. "Go," she told him. "I'll go in later."

Harry nodded and walked in, and as he was closing the door behind him, he heard Hermione ask 'Where is her family?'. When he looked at the bed, the person occupying it was not the person Harry seemed to know. He wanted to look away, not wanting to see his friend like this. But he didn't, knowing that these were to be the remaining moments he could spend with her. He walked to the right side of the bed.

"Heather?" Harry said. "Red, can you hear me?" he asked, he could feel his eyes watering. He closed them quickly to stop the tears, had to be strong for her. Heather was weak, but when she heard him, she opened her eyes. They were still the warm eyes he could remember.

She smiled weakly. "Harry?"

"Yeah, it's me," Harry said as he took hold of her hand. It was cold.

"I knew something like this was going to happen," Heather admitted, chuckling lightly.

"What?"

"Last night," she said. So she had felt it, too. "I –I felt something and I just couldn't seem to rest until I wrote you something. You'll find it on my bed. I just hope you forgive me for it."

"Heather, whatever it is, you know I will." There was a knock on the door and Hermione walked in. She went to Harry's side and choked back a sob.

"Hermione," Heather greeted softly. Hermione seemed to be able to hold back the tears forming. She hugged Heather tightly.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you," she whispered in her ear. Heather shook her head. Hermione smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem," Heather said as she returned the hug. She was whispering as though she didn't want Harry to hear. "Just take care of Harry."

Hermione smiled faintly before she stepped back to let Harry talk.

"Love you," Harry said. Heather smiled again.

"Love you, too. Just take care."

"Heather, don't leave me," Harry said as he picked up her hand again.

Heather let her tears fall. "I'll never, ever, leave you, Harry. Don't forget that."

"You are now."

"I may not be here physically, but I'll always be here," she said softly as she slowly brought her hand to his heart. She let her hand drop to the white sheets. "Whatever you read in the letter, remember everything changed."

Harry nodded, allowing his a few tears to slip, he let go of her hand to wipe them away. He felt as though some part of him was dying. He didn't want her to go. He felt frustrated as more tears fell. Heather wiped his tears gently with her thumb.

"Don't cry," she said. Harry pressed his cheek against her hand. He wanted to remember her face forever, in his memory. "Don't forget what we talked about last night," she said, a slight chuckle escaping her lips.

"It hurts a lot," Heather said lightly. Harry understood what she meant. As much as it pained him, he nodded at her and took her hand that was on his cheek, to his lips.

"Go," Harry said, now sobbing into her hand.

"Tell my parents I love them," Heather said softly.

"I will," Harry said, as he leaned and kissed her on her forehead.

"I'm sorry," Heather said in a voice barely above a whisper as her eyes began to close. Harry tightened his grip on her hand

"It's okay, Red. Go on," Harry said. "Rest."

"Take care, Harry, Hermione," Heather whispered. "We will see each other again when it's time."

She gave Harry's hand one last squeeze and a smile before she closed her eyes. The pained look she had before was gone. She looked as though she was merely sleeping, and that was how Harry wanted to remember her. He looked at her face, as if craving it in his memory.

Harry stood up, sat on her bed and took her body in his arms. He buried his face in her hair and wept. After a long moment, he laid her back down gently. He nodded slowly, a smile gracing his lips.

"Take care," he said before he turned to face Hermione. She had a hand over her eyes, as though trying to cover her tears, but there were traces of them rolling down her cheeks.

Harry walked to her and wrapped his arms around her. She returned his hug. The two were in each other's arms, mourning for their loss.

"It's going to be okay," Harry whispered to the room before he decided that it was time to alert the Healers that their frind had come to rest.

**Author's Note:** I may not be able to update until a few weeks unless I could write the next chapter in the next week days. I need to visit my Auntie and a few days after that, we will be going to the cottage and come back just a day before school starts.


	8. The Letter

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any Harry Potter characters.

**Summary:** Harry and Hermione are friends and live in the same house while Ron is married to Luna. Both of them are famous in both the wizarding and muggle world. A woman suddenly turns up in their doorstep with a baby telling them that the baby is not safe with her and if the people who are after her find out that the baby was hers, they would kill it. Hermione offers to look after the baby and take care of her child until her name was cleared. In this time, Harry and Hermione get closer ... Will they remain friends posing as a family..or something more? (H/Hr)

**Author's Note:** I know that I haven't updated this story for a while and I apologize for that. It makes me feel guilty to all those that were waiting for it and it didn't come as quickly as they hoped it would. Therefore, I have to say, now, that I can't make any promises for quick updates, mainly because I've been very busy lately.

* * *

**The Baby**

**Chapter Eight: The Letter**

Harry sighed. It had been a few days already and yet, the pain was still raw. It felt like it was only yesterday that he had held her hand as she muttered her parting words. He felt a strange kind of emptiness – he felt as though he had lost a sister. In a way, he had thought on the day of her funeral, in a way, he had lost his sister. A sister that was irreplaceable.There was a quiet knock on the door that brought him out of his thoughts. He turned his head, just noticing that his cheeks were tear-stained.

"Come in!" he called out as he wiped his cheeks vigorously with the back of his hands and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "The door's open!"

The door opened, albeit cautiously.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said softly as she entered and spotted him. She walked to his bed, sitting down beside him when he motioned for her to sit.

"Hey, 'Mione," he said weakly, trying to offer her a weak smile. Hermione was stared at him for a few moments. She shook her head lightly before she scooted closer to him, putting her hand on his arm.

"She wouldn't like you to be like this, Harry."

"I should have been there to help her," Harry whispered painfully. "I should have been there to stop the curse."

"You can't keep on doing this to yourself," Hermione told him, although Harry knew that she felt that part of it was her fault and that she was trying to be strong for him. "Being depressed wouldn't bring her back."

"I know," Harry said as he averted his eyes towards the floor. "I'm trying, but it's still painful."

"It should be, Harry," Hermione said. "She was a good person, one of your greatest friends." Harry forced a smile on his face. "Whenever you're ready, find out what she was trying to tell you. That might help."

It took a moment for Harry to realise what she was talking about.

_ 'The letter,'_ Harry thought. _'I almost forgot about it.' _

"Right," Harry breathed. "What would I do without you, Hermione?" he said as he looked at her.

"Probably the same thing I would do without you," Hermione smiled, a strange look in her eyes, but the moment it appeared, it was gone. She got up and walked to the door. "Ron and Luna are downstairs with the kids. You can come down anytime," she said as she stepped out. "You know where to find me if you need anything."

Harry pulled out a box from underneath his bed when he heard the door close behind Hermione. He pulled back the silver clasp and looked at its contents. There was a letter stored in it. It was the _only_ thing in it. It was Heather's _last_ letter to him. For days, he had put off the time to finally read the letter and find out what information it held that Heather would worry so much about. Surely, it couldn't be that bad?

He took a deep breath and tore the envelope's edge. A sheet of paper fell out from it. It was folded in half and, from what he could see, it had Heather's legible, yet, a little on the sloppy side, writing.

_ My Dearest Harry_,

_ I feel so silly right now! I don't even know why I'm writing this to you. I've been staring at my ceiling for the last two hours, unable to get the sleep I deserve! It's not everyday I get a lot of time-off. _

Despite the situation, Harry had to crack a smile at that. It was true. During the last four months, she was never home for more than a week, and when she was there, she would mostly be sleeping. However, she still tried to spend as much time with her friends and family as she could.

_ Anyways, as I was saying, I don't know what to say, yet I know that I do have a lot to say …does that make sense? Well, I hope it does, because I think it does and you know that what I say does make sense …most of the time anyway - doesn't it? Well, I hope it does because I think it does make sense and I like to think that I'm always right!_

Harry had to read that part at least three times before he understood what she was trying to say. He always knew that when his friend was nervous, she would start to say things out of blue, even in her letters.

_ Where was I? Oh, yes! I was saying that I didn't know what to say and that rubbish! Well, I don't. I have a weird feeling that I should write you this and I would make the biggest mistake of my life if I didn't – but I told you it's just a feeling and I'm not a very big fan of Divination. Yes, I know, I probably don't like it because of that Trelawney being a fraud and 'poisoning my mind that every Seer is like that' as you said so yourself about a few years ago, but still! Am I talking too much? I think I am …and don't roll your eyes at me! _

Harry chuckled lightly.The letter was making him a _tad bit_ better.

_ I guess thishas beennagging me, because I know I haven't been completely honest with you. Maybe its time that you know a few of the little things I've kept from you._

Harry raised his eyebrows at this. Was there something really this important that Heather sounded so uncharacteristically serious?

_ Where to start? I guess the best place to start is from the beginning of the story right? Harry, you don't know how hard it is to write this down. I'm an Auror. That's right, I'm an Auror – a Top Auror, one of the best ones around. My mission or whatever you want to call it, is to look out for you. They ordered me to watch you for whenever danger was around the corner._

Harry stared hard at her words, then laughed bitterly. So that was what this was? The friendship he had with her – the friendship he had _treasured so dearly_, was fake?

_ You have to understand that even if it began that way, me being forced to befriend you and all, it changed along the way. I didn't like the idea of babysitting a conceited, egotistical prat that Ihad once thoughtThe-Boy-Who-Lived would be. I had to do it though, or my boss would fire me. My job was to protect you no matter what from Merlin knows what. I was told to risk my life for you if worse comes to worse. _

_ At first, you were distant from me, barely talking to me as we began our job. I was your photographer, you were my model. That was all it was to me. You were trying to order me around, but I think I gave you quite a shock when I didn't listen to you. I decided to leave things as they were, because for the first time in my life, I actually enjoyed a job. _

_ As time passed, I actually got to like you. My job wasn't that difficult anymore. I was having fun while doing it. I knew that wasn't planned, hell I didn't even think of the possibility of befriending the Great Harry Potter. I got to know you better as you opened up to me and, eventually, you ended up as one of my best friends. _

_ I offered the Ministry to stop paying me because it didn't seem like a job anymore. They realized after that that no one was planning an attack on you anytime soon or anything so life threatening that they would waste one of their best Aurors. They gave me a different job after that. That's why I haven't been home a lot._

_ After reading this, I would be mad too. Doesn't it sound so cliché? _

Here, Harry couldn't help but notice that the ink was smudged due to tears. Unable to read what written next, he scanned the parchment to read the next legible writing.

_ I wish I told you this sooner, but I was afraid. The possibility of loosing a friend like you was even scarier that facing twenty Death Eaters single- handed. I hope you forgive me for this._

_ You'll always have me by your side, remember that. You'll always have Hermione and Ron, too. We're all by your side. Whatever happens, understand that I will never leave you._

Harry raised his eyebrows at what he read next. It was _really _out of blue. _Really unexpected._ Totally _random_. First she was _confessing_ about the foundation of their friendship, then she was giving him _advice_ - _on his love life!_

_ About your love life, you need to learn how to allow that other person to have a say in it. Don't go thinking that you're the only one being affected. Respect her enough to make her make her own decisions. And not everything has a happy ending. If you do have a relationship and it doesn't work out, it'll be able to move on knowing that you tried, just like I did. I made a mistake of not telling him I loved him. I don't want you to make the same mistake. _

_ I'm really sorry again, Harry._

_ Love Always,_

_ Heather Williams_

Harry clutched the letter in his shaking hands. How was he suppose to feel about her confession? Angry that their friendship had started forced? Disappointed that she just told him now when she had countless chances before? Annoyed that she still told him when he was perfectly happy without this information. Happy that she told him the truth? He didn't know.

However, something deep inside him was churning. He rested his backagainst the headboard, leaning his head on one of his knees, which was brought up. After reading the letter, he felt as though a large weight had been lifted of his shoulders. Then, he knew. She needed to tell him this just as much as he needed to hear her say it. He felt like their friendship wasn't truthful then, but now, it felt - well - _real_. He couldn't explain what it was then. It felt like a huge detail was missing, and now, he knew exactly what it was. And in time, he'd learn to accept that.

He appreciated Heather. From her annoying habits of hogging the blankets when she slept over, to her crazy and wacky advices. Just like the one she had on her letter. It was a confusing _'advice'_ to read. Very confusing. So confusing to him, in fact, that he guessed he would never know what she was trying to tell him. However, by believing this, it was as though he was missing very something important.

Harry smiled to himselfso suddenly, that he surprised even himself.He stood up from his position and went to the washroom to freshen up and face the day. He felt better than he had been in days. He went back out, pulling a clean shirt over his head when he suddenly froze. In the middle of the bed was another piece of parchment. He walked to it slowly, his eyes narrowed.

Harry cocked his head to the side. Was this parchment really there before? Why hadn't he noticed it? Did he just miss it from the envelope, or did an owl just deliver it now? Perhaps her – Heather's- parents found it and owled it to him.

'_But that's impossible,'_ a voice said in his head. _'They just saw you yesterday, I'm pretty sure they should've seen it before.'_

Harry agreed silently that that was a logical reason, cursing the voice for ruling out the only reason he could think of. But how would that explain the letter? He shivered as a cool breeze went inside the open window. He was standing in front of the letter as though he was expecting it to speak for itself. He decided that he just didn't see it and it had been sitting on the bed for a while now, along with the letter he had read just moments before.

_ Thank you for understanding. I'll always be here, by your side, no matter what._

That was all it said. it didn't say who it was from. Just those two simple sentences.

Just as he finished reading the letter, the curtain of the window moved gently. He was certain there wasn't a wind that pushed it, he was standing right behind it. Surely, he'd feel it if there was any.

And the curtain. The curtain moved as though something had just gone through it. It didn't move forcefully, like most of the winds would move it considering the season. Harry looked atthefourteen wordsfor a few long moments and smiled.

Harry walked to the large window and looked up at the sky. At that exact moment, a gentle wind came, brushing Harry's hair off his forehead, just like Heather used to do. Harry thought he heard a familiar laugh brush through with the breeze, but was not sure of it. He sighed as he leaned on the window sill. He got lost in his own thoughts and by the time he was aware of the time, it was nightfall. Instead of going out where he could hear Hermione's faint footsteps in the hall, he climed into bed. That night, he slept without his usual nightmares that started since Heather's death.

**

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Author's Note: Hi! Really sorry if this chapter bored you. I just thought I'd show you this 'side' of Heather, and of course, to show how Harry has been coping. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update! I'm really sorry ... I just squeezed in this time from the Holidays, you know how busy they get and add in the school! **


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